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H  Ancient  Reddine 

P^  IN 

^  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 


ANCIENT    REDDING 


Ancient  Redding 

IN 

Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 

Its  Planting 
As  a  Puritan  Village 

AND 

Sketches 
Of  Its  Early  Settlers 

FROM 

1639  to  1652 


By 
Loea  Parker  Howard 


hSTdOu 

q7V.tyy 


THOMAS    TODD     COMPANY 
PRINTERS  BOSTON 


"X 


INTRODUCTION 


JH  j*L  Jte  It  ite  Jfe  Jtt  tit  Ji?  HoL'^  ^^ 


TH  E  following  pages  contain  brief  accounts  of  the 
Lynn  inhabitants,  many  of  whom  lived  in  the 
precinct  of  Saugus,  who  planned  and  began 
the  settlement  of  Lynn  Village  in  1638/9,  and 
sketches  of  the  inhabitants  from  neighboring  towns  who 
became  settlers  of  Ancient  Redding  and  are  mentioned 
in  the  distribution  of  town  lands  in  1647  ^.nd  1652. 
There  were  eight  inhabitants  of  Lynn  who  received 
allotments  of  land  in  Lynn  Village  in  the  Six  Mile 
Grant  of  1638  and  who  had,  according  to  town  and 
colonial  records,  a  large  share  in  its  planting  and  sub- 
sequent history  j  there  were  twenty-eight  inhabitants 
from  other  neighboring  towns,  who  became  early  set- 
tlers of  Redding,  and  shared  in  the  divisions  of  town 
land  in  1647  ^^^  i^J^j  these  thirty-six  planters  and 
settlers  were  among  the  several  thousand  English  sub- 
jects who  fled  to  the  Bay  Colony  from  1630  to  1645  to 
escape  from  the  tyranny  of  church  and  state  in  England. 
Most  of  the  material  here  presented  was  gathered 
from  records  in  the  Registries  of  Essex  and  Middlesex 
Counties  and  the  State  Archives  j  from  town  records 
and  histories  j  and  from  genealogies  in  the  Library  of 
the  New  England  Historical  Society. 

Many  of  the  lots  and  grants  here  mentioned  were 
visited  to  obtain  a  definite  idea  of  their  location  and 
extent.  [  vii  ] 


The  ancient  spelling  of  the  name  was  Redding  and 
is  used  throughout  these  pages  to  include  the  present 
towns  of  Wakefield,  Reading  and  North  Reading. 

By  the  calendar  in  use  when  Redding  was  settled,  the 
new  year  began  during  the  latter  part  of  March  j  this 
often  made  double  dating  necessary. 

LoEA  Parker  Howard 
Concord,  1944 


L  viii  ] 


ANCIENT    REDDING 


REDDING    A    PIONEER    TOWN 


IN  1639,  nine  years  after  the  arrival  of  Gov.  Winthrop 
with  the  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony, 
settlements  were  begun  in  Lynn  Village  near  the 
shore  of  Lake  Quannapowitt.  At  that  time  there 
were  only  seventeen  towns  in  the  Colony  and  they  had 
only  recently  been  given  the  right  to  elect  officers,  pass 
by-laws  and  give  title  to  land  within  their  borders. 
Counties  were  not  established  until  1 643  j  Lynn  Village 
was  then  placed  in  Middlesex  and  Lynn  in  Essex.  By 
1 644  seven  families  were  living  in  rude  houses  and  they 
chose  the  name  of  Redding  for  the  Town  incorporated 
at  that  time. 

Several  early  settlers  of  Redding  came  to  Massachu- 
setts at  the  time  of  Gov.  Winthrop 's  arrival  and  a  few 
were  here  years  before  j  Richard  Walker,  Redding's  first 
representative,  was  in  Salem  with  Gov.  Endicott  in 
1629J  Peter  Palfrey,  whose  homestead  during  his  last 
years  was  near  Crystal  Lake,  was  with  Roger  Conant  in 
Gloucester  and  Salem  from  1624  to  1629J  John  Poole, 
the  town-miller,  was  one  of  the  eight  men  who  with 
Lieut.-Gov.  Dudley  began  the  settlement  of  Cambridge 
in  163 1.  Redding,  therefore,  may  justly  claim  to  be  one 
of  the  pioneer  towns  of  the  Commonwealth. 


[i] 


Grants  made  by  the  General  Court  in  1638/9 

The  earliest  public  notice  of  plans  for  a  plantation  at 
the  headwaters  of  the  Saugus  River  was  an  order  of 
the  Court,  March  16,  1638,  granting  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Lynn  a  tract  of  land  "  whose  bounds  were  Six  miles 
from  the  meeting  house  and  Mr.  Hathorne  of  Salem 
and  Lieut.  Davenport  of  Lynn  are  to  view  and  inform 
how  the  land  beyond  lyeth  whether  it  may  be  fit  for  an- 
other plantation  or  no."  Their  report  must,  have  been 
favorable,  for,  on  September  9,  the  Court  passed  a  second 
order:  "The  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lynn  for  a 
place  for  an  inland  plantation  at  the  head  of  their  bounds 
is  granted  them,  four  miles  square  or  so  much  thereof 
as  the  place  will  afford,  upon  condition  that  the  petition- 
ers shall  within  two  years  make  some  good  proceeding 
in  planting,  so  that  it  may  be  a  village  fit  to  contain  a 
convenient  number  of  inhabitants,  which  may  in  due 
time  have  a  church  there."  On  November  5,  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Hathorne  and  Mr.  Edward  Tomlin  were  chosen 
"  to  measure  the  bounds  of  Lin  according  to  the  Court's 
order  of  Six  Miles  from  the  meeting  house."  They 
certified  "that  it  extended  from  Charlestowne  bounds 
(Stoneham)  to  the  south  end  of  the  great  Pond  at  Lynn 
village  and  from  thence  to  the  great  swamp  adjoining 
onto  the  great  Pond  and  so  to  run  from  thence  north- 
ward to  the  north  River  (Ipswich)  and  so  to  Salem 
bounds"  (Peabody).  On  May  13,  1640,  by  the  Court's 
order,  "  Such  as  go  to  Linn  Village  are  for  two  years 
exempt  from  public  rates  which  is  to  begin  when  seven 

[2] 


houses  are  built  and  seven  families  are  settled  there." 
On  May  26,  1644,  the  Court  ordered,  "That  Lin  Vil- 
lage as  the  desire  of  the  inhabitants  thereof  shall  be 
called  Redding."  This  constituted  its  incorporation. 

The  order  of  September  9,  1 639,  granting  a  place  four 
miles  square  for  a  plantation,  included  land  as  far  west 
as  the  bounds  of  Woburn  and  Stoneham  and  much  of  it 
became  the  Third  Parish,  now  the  Town  of  Reading. 

A  Grant  in  1651 

In  1 65 1,  the  Court  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Red- 
ding, two  square  miles  north  of  the  Ipswich  River  5  this 
and  the  upland  south  of  the  River  as  far  as  Bare  Meadow, 
became  the  Second  Parish,  now  the  Town  of  North 
Reading.  In  1658,  the  land  north  of  the  River  was 
divided  among  the  forty-five  inhabitants  of  Redding, 
few  of  whom  settled  in  the  North  Parish  but  sold  their 
land  to  settlers  who  came  from  Salem  and  Danvers. 
The  Town  of  Redding  later  gave  one-half  of  Sadler's 
Neck,  south  of  the  River,  to  six  proprietors  of  the  Second 
Parish. 


[3] 


COLONIAL    TOWNS    WERE    SMALL 
DEMOCRACIES 

OTHER  towns  besides  Lynn  were  granted  land 
for  plantations  with  conditions  similar  to 
those  applying  to  Lynn  Village.  Charlestown 
was  granted  "eight  miles  into  the  country 
from  its  meeting-house,  provided  they  build  within  two 
years  j  "  later  it  was  given  four  miles  square  for  Charles- 
town  Village,  now  the  towns  of  Winchester  and  Woburn. 
Cambridge  was  granted  land,  now  a  part  of  Newton, 
which  was  called  Cambridge  Village  j  later  it  was  given 
land  for  Shawsheen  Village,  now  the  Town  of  Bill- 
erica,  "provided  they  make  it  a  village  to  have  ten 
families  within  three  years  j  "  it  was  laid  out  in  farms 
of  125  acres  and  village  lots  of  40  acres  near  the  meet- 
ing-house j  Waltham  was  the  West  Parish  of  Water- 
town,  "  with  bounds  that  ran  eight  miles  into  the  country 
from  the  meeting-house  "  5  a  part  of  Ipswich  known  as 
the  "Village  at  New  Medows"  became  Topees  field; 
Bradford  on  the  Merrimack  was  Rowley  Village. 

Each  village  had  a  meeting-house  j  a  learned  minis- 
ter settled  for  life  j  a  military  company  j  a  training- field 
or  common;  and,  after  1647,  ^  school.  At  first,  houses 
were  centrally  located  on  village  lots  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  meeting-house;  large  farms  belonging  to  these 
homesteads  were  often  miles  distant.    All  inhabitants 

[4] 


were  obliged  to  own  homestalls.  None  could  be  freemen 
and  take  part  in  the  government  except  members  of  the 
church.  Local  government  was  secured  by  freemen  in 
town  meetings.  Each  town  became  a  small  democracy. 
These  conditions  promoted  safety  and  uniformity  j  they 
prevented  the  discord  that  had  wrecked  many  earlier 
attempts  to  colonize  New  England.  When  a  village 
was  taking  shape,  its  promoters  held  many  meetings  to 
make  plans  and  to  secure  desirable  inhabitants. 

Land  was  held  by  fee-simple,  not  entailed  nor  leased 
from  titled  persons  or  religious  societies  as  in  England 
and  Canada  j  all  sons  in  a  family  shared  the  real  estate. 

Towns  and  villages  planted  under  these  conditions 
enabled  Massachusetts  Bay  to  become  a  Commonwealth, 
not  merely  a  co-partnership  engaged  in  fishing  and 
trading.  The  men  who  had  sacrificed  their  English 
estates  to  provide  funds  for  the  Company, —  Winthrop, 
Johnson,  Humfrey,  Saltonstall,  Endicott,  Dudley,  and 
others  who  came  with  the  Charter,  were  not  so  much 
interested  in  profits  as  in  laying  a  strong  foundation  for 
their  great  experiment  in  self-government.  The  insti- 
tutions thus  established  have  proved  equal  to  the  test 
of  time,  and  are  the  chief  sources  of  national  strength. 


[5] 


DISTRIBUTION  of  the  SIX  MILE  GRANT 


jffjil  V^Bi  vSlVH  vSlSL  VBLVa  ^LW. 


THE  grant  of  March  16,  1638,  with  bounds  Six 
Miles  from  the  meeting-house  was  immediately 
distributed  among  the  one  hundred  inhabitants 
of  Lynn.  According  to  the  Reading  Book  of 
Lands  and  Ways,  Nicholas  Browne  received  his  200 
and  tenn  acres  east  of  the  Create  Pondy  only  five  days 
after  the  passage  of  the  Court's  order.  The  lots  varied  in 
size  from  800  to  10  acres.  The  large  lots  enabled  the 
Colony  to  fulfill  pledges  made  to  those  who  had  in- 
vested large  sums  in  the  Company  for  ships  and  pro- 
visions. The  contract  was  200  acres  for  each  £50  adven- 
tured. Persons  who  were  not  adventurers  were  given 
50  acres  for  the  Master  and  his  jamlie.  The  total  thus 
divided  was  8640  acres  or  13%  square  miles.  Its  length 
from  the  Ipswich  River  to  the  Maiden  line  was  about 
five  miles.  The  portion  east  of  the  Two  Ponds  for  the 
distance  of  a  mile  became  a  part  of  Lynn  Village  j  the 
part  east  of  the  Great  Swamp  to  the  Salem  line  was 
known  as  Lynn  Fields,  a  precinct  of  Lynn  3  and  the  por- 
tion south  of  Lynn  Fields,  east  of  Lynn  Village,  was 
Saugus,  also  a  precinct  of  Lynn.  A  copy  of  three  pages 
from  the  missing  Town  Book  of  Lynn,  giving  the  dis- 
tribution of  this  grant,  is  preserved  among  the  records 
of  the  Essex  Quarterly  Court,  and  a  part  is  given  on 
page  53- 
[6] 


THE  PLANTERS  OF   LYNN  VILLAGE 


SL  susa.  so.  scL  sn so.  mstL  jsisil 


THE  planting  of  the  Village  was  brought  about 
chiefly  through  the  labor  and  influence  of  the 
following  inhabitants  of  Lynn:  William  Cow- 
drey,  the  first  town-clerk  of  Redding,  selectman 
and  deacon  for  forty  years,  and  representative  for  four 
terms  j  John  Poole,  the  town-miller  and  its  wealthiest 
citizen  j  Nicholas  Browne,  a  selectman,  representative 
and  wealthy  farmery  Thomas  Parker,  "  won  of  ye  foun- 
dation of  ye  church,"  selectman  and  justice  j  Zachary 
Fitch,  a  deacon  and  selectman  j  Richard  Walker,  the 
first  representative,  captain  of  the  military  company, 
selectman,  a  surveyor  who  laid  out  the  lots  for  the 
Village,  and  became  its  most  widely  known  and  enter- 
prising citizen;  Thomas  Marshall,  a  selectman.  The 
last  two  had  influential  family  and  business  connections  j 
they  were  engaged  in  the  purchase  and  sale  of  Redding 
land  and  probably  brought  new  settlers  to  the  Village. 
Other  Lynn  inhabitants  doubtless  shared  in  this  en- 
terprise, but  the  records  mention  very  little  concerning 
them.  Nearly  all  of  the  planters  of  Lynn  Village  here 
mentioned  had  lived  in  Saugus.  Their  homesteads  are 
located  on  a  map  of  Lynn,  carefully  drawn  in  1829  by 
Alonzo  Lewis  who  made  a  life  study  of  the  history  of 
Lynn.  This  map  shows  the  homestead  of  John  Poole  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Lynnfield  road,  north  of  the  present 

[7] 


schoolhouse  in  North  Saugus.  Near  the  pond,  according 
to  present-day  residents,  was  his  mill,  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  pond  there  is  a  hill  called  Poole's  Mountain. 
A  half-mile  south  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  east  of  the 
intersection  of  Walnut  Street  and  the  Newburyport 
Turnpike,  was  the  large  grant  made  to  Adam  Hawks  in 
1635.  South  of  Walnut  Street  on  Saugus  River  were 
the  ancient  Iron  Works.  Nearby  is  the  restored  house 
of  Thomas  Dexter.  West  of  the  Soldiers'  Monument  in 
Saugus  Center,  on  School  Street,  was  Richard  Walker's 
Plain.  It  was  200  acres  given  to  him  for  laying  out  the 
lots  of  the  Six  Mile  Grant.  Near  here  lived  Thomas 
Marshall.  Here  also  was  the  homestead  of  Thomas 
Parker.  East  of  the  Saugus  River,  north  of  the  Iron 
Works,  was  the  watch-house,  whose  foundation  stones 
and  the  spring  can  still  be  seen.  Not  far  from  the  junc- 
tion of  Walnut,  Chestnut  and  Pine  Streets  was  the  farm 
of  Nicholas  Browne.  At  the  junction  of  Walnut  and 
Holyoke  Streets,  at  the  base  of  a  great  cliff,  was  the 
house  of  Richard  Sadler,  the  first  Town  Clerk  of  Lynn. 
This  cliff  and  200  acres  of  land,  south  of  the  Ipswich 
River  in  North  Reading,  known  as  Sadler's  Neck,  were 
granted  to  him  in  1638/9.  A  tablet,  by  the  roadside, 
commemorates  Mr.  Sadler.  The  home  of  Zachery  Fitch 
was  next  to  the  meeting-house  on  Lynn  Common. 

WILLIAM  COWDREY 

William  Cowdrey  was  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lynn 
mentioned  in  its  Town  Book  as  receiving  in  1638/9,  a 
grant  of  60  acres  and  tenn. 
[8] 


It  is  described  in  the  Book  of  Lands  and  Ways  of 
Reading,  as  "  Three  score  acres  of  upland  that  was  given 
him  by  the  Towne  of  Linn  and  lyeth  in  the  bounds  of 
Redding  bounded  south  with  the  lande  of  Samuel 
Haugh  and  John  Gould  j  on  the  west  by  lande  of 
Thomas  Taylor;  on  the  north  by  lande  of  John  Weyleyj 
and  on  the  east  by  lande  of  Samuel  Haugh  and  Nathan- 
iel Cowdrey."  This  was  on  the  east  slope  of  Cowdrey's 
Hill. 

Also,  "  Given  him  by  the  Towne  of  Redding  in  1642, 
three  acres  of  Meddow  lying  in  the  Mill  Meddow, 
bounded  east  with  the  meddow  of  William  Eaton  and 
Samuel  Walker;  on  the  south  with  meddow  of  Thomas 
Clark;  on  the  west  with  land  of  Rev.  Samuel  Haugh 
and  Samuel  Dutton  and  on  the  north  with  the  meddow 
of  Thomas  Parker." 

Also,  "  Given  by  the  Towne  of  Redding  in  1 647,  a 
parssell  of  land  by  the  Water  Mill  upon  the  hill  on  the 
south  east  of  Samuel  Dunton's  house."  He  lived  on  the 
site  of  the  late  Quannapowitt  House  on  the  Common, 
and  kept  a  tavern  there. 

He  was  born  in  Weymouth,  England,  in  1 602 ;  sailed 
for  New  England  from  Southampton,  and  arrived  in 
Lynn  about  1630.  He  was  the  first  town-clerk  of  Red- 
ding, a  deacon,  chairman  of  the  selectmen,  and  a  com- 
missioner to  end  small  causes,  from  the  organization  of 
the  church  and  town  until  his  death  in  1687,  a  period  of 
forty-five  years.  When  he  had  become  too  feeble  to 
perform  the  duties  of  a  town  clerk,  the  Town  did  not 
elect  a  successor,  but  chose  a  clerk  fro  tempore  for  six 

[9] 


years.  Ten  years  after  Reading  was  incorporated,  this 
worthy  Town  Father  was  empowered  and  ordered  by 
the  Court  "  to  sell  wine  and  strong  liquors  to  Indians  as 
to  his  judgment  shall  seem  most  meet  and  necessary  for 
their  relief  in  just  and  urgent  occasions  and  not  other- 
wise, provided  he  shall  not  sell  more  than  one  pint  to 
one  Indian  at  one  time  upon  any  pretence  whatever." 
Redding  selectmen,  after  their  meetings,  often  presented 
bills  to  the  Town  for  "Dinners  at  William  Cowdrey's 
house." 

William  Cowdrey  was  one  of  the  most  active  and 
influential  members  of  the  group  who  planned  Lynn 
Village.  In  1682,  during  a  hearing  in  behalf  of  the 
Burcham  heirs  for  land  granted  in  1638/9,  William 
Cowdrey  testified  as  follows:  "Before  settlements  had 
begun  in  Lyn  Village  we  held  many  meetings  in  Lyn 
and  elsewhere  to  make  plans  and  that  he  being  one  of 
the  first  to  come  up  to  Lyn  Village  which  is  one  and 
forty  years  past,  John  Poole  asked  a  grant  of  land  for 
convenience  and  encouragement.  When  Capt.  Richard 
Walker  testified,  William  Cowdrey  said  that  he  was  one 
of  the  first  to  come  up  to  the  Town  and  that  he  was 
better  acquainted  than  any  of  us  forasmuch  as  he  was 
one  of  the  '  lairs  out '  of  the  Linn  lands,  especially  those 
lands  that  lie  within  our  Town  lines.  Capt.  Walker  said 
that  there  was  a  lot  south  of  the  Newhall  lots  that  was 
given  to  John  Poole  which  was  then  and  now  is  in  the 
bounds  of  the  Towne  of  Redding."  (Vol.  39,  p.  822  & 
Vol.  12,  Mass.  Archives.)  Deacon  Cowdrey  died  in 
1687  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  The  village  that 

1 10 1 


he  had  helped  to  plant  had  become  a  prosperous  town 
with  one  hundred  proprietors.  Registers  of  the  two 
churches  in  Reading,  England,  contain  records  of  the 
baptisms  of  numerous  Cowdreys,  but  no  record  of  a 
William  Cowdrey. 

JOHN  POOLE 

John  Poole  was  the  wealthiest  promoter  of  Lynn 
Village.  In  the  year  that  it  was  incorporated,  he  was 
given  an  exclusive  right  to  build  and  maintain  a  grist- 
mill for  the  use  of  the  Town.  It  was  to  sett  on  the  end 
of  Sargent  Marshall's  lott  by  the  Marsh  medow.  The 
present  Rattan  Works  now  occupy  this  site.  His  home- 
stead was  nearby. 

The  grant  to  John  Poole  by  the  Town  of  Lynn  in 
1 63  8  was  200  acres  and  he  must  have  been  an  adventurer 
in  the  stock  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company.  It  was 
north  of  the  Create  Pond,  extending  the  entire  length 
of  the  present  Bay  State  Road.  It  included  the  farm  of 
the  late  Dea.  Caleb  Wakefield,  whose  mother  was  a 
Poole,  Camp  Curtis  Guild  and  the  Cox  farm. 

The  earliest  book  of  Cambridge  Records  mentions 
John  Poole  as  one  of  the  eight  first  proprietors.  Others 
were  Lieut.-Gov.  Thomas  Dudley  and  Simon  Brad- 
street.  They  came  to  Boston  in  1630  with  Gov.  Win- 
throp,  and  it  is  probable  that  John  Poole  came  with 
them.  Thomas  Dudley  had  been  the  steward  of  the  Earl 
of  Lincoln  and  was  succeeded  by  Simon  Bradstreet.  A 
genealogy  of  John  Poole  by  Gilbert  Brown,  LL.D., 
states  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  a  brother  of  the  Earl 

[II] 


of  Lincoln,  and  gives  an  account  of  his  very  distinguished 
ancestors.  In  the  Parish  Register  in  Reading,  England, 
is  a  record  of  the  marriage  of  John  Poole  and  Johanna 
—  in  1637. 

He  was  not  a  member  of  the  Redding  church,  neither 
did  he  hold  a  public  office,  unless  being  the  Town  Miller 
is  so  considered.  Many  of  his  descendants  have  very 
honorable  records  in  church,  civil,  and  military  life. 
His  son,  Capt.  Jonathan  Poole,  inherited  the  home- 
stead, the  grist-mill,  and  part  of  the  great  farm  at  the 
north  end  of  the  Pond.  He  was  a  much  valued  captain 
at  Hatfield  and  Hadley  during  Philip's  Indian  War, 
and  president  of  a  council  of  war  there  in  the  winter  of 
1675.  He  was  a  selectman  and  a  representative.  He 
died  in  1678  at  the  age  of  44.  His  daughter,  Sarah 
Poole,  became  the  wife  of  Dea.  &  Capt.  Thomas  Ban- 
croft in  1673.  They  settled  in  the  "Wood  End,"  on 
land  between  West  Street  and  Woburn  bounds,  given  to 
them  by  their  parents,  and  built  the  third  house  in  the 
present  Town  of  Reading.  Their  daughter,  Sarah  Ban- 
croft, married  Lieut.  Abraham  Briant,  and  in  1694  this 
couple  built  the  Parker  Tavern. 

NICHOLAS  BROWNE 

Nicholas  Browne  was  a  well-to-do  farmer  whose 
homestead  was  on  Walnut  Street  in  North  Saugus.  Next 
to  John  Poole,  he  had  paid  the  largest  tax  in  Lynn  of 
any  of  the  pioneers  who  went  to  Lynn  Village.  He  was 
a  son  of  Edward  Browne  of  Inkburrow,  Worcestershire, 
England.  In  1660,  he  sent  his  son,  Esq.  John  Browne, 

[121 


to  England  to  collect  money  due  him  on  an  inheritance 
of  shops,  houses  and  lands.  The  mission  was  not  suc- 
cessful. He  was  a  representative  from  Lynn  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  as  early  as  1 63 1 . 

The  first  entry  in  the  Book  of  Lands  and  Ways  of 
Ancient  Redding  is  the  following:  "The  18*''  of  the 
12*^  month  (March)  1638.  The  Lands  and  Medows  of 
Nicholas  Browne  as  they  ware  given  him  by  the  town 
of  Linn  and  as  they  ware  given  him  by  the  town  of 
Redding  and  as  he  hath  purchased  them  of  other  men. 
Imprimis:  The  land  given  him  as  appears  by  the  Linn 
Town  Book  in  ye  year  1638,  Two  hundred  and  tenn 
acres  lying  within  the  bounds  of  Redding  and  is  Bounded 
on  the  east  side  of  it  with  the  great  River  (Saugus) ;  on 
the  south  side  with  the  land  of  Boniface  Burton  j  on  the 
west  side  of  it  with  the  Land  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Marshall 
and  Jeremiah  Swain;  and  on  the  north  of  it  with  the 
medow  commonly  called  the  Wigwams. 
1642.  Purchased  of  George  Taylor  of  Lin  90  acres 
in  the  Town  of  Redding,  bounded  east  &  west  by  Capt. 
Richard  Walker  John  Pool  and  Zachery  Fitch  j  north 
by  Hananiah  Parker  j  south  by  John  Bacheller.  This 
is  30  acres  of  it.  Another  30  acres  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Edward  Taylor  and  John  Bacheller;  by  the 
Greate  Pond  on  the  West;  on  the  east  by  said  30  acres 
and  Thomas  Parker.  The  remaining  30  acres  lying 
between  Edward  Taylor  and  Capt.  Richard  Walker  on 
the  south  and  east;  on  the  west  by  the  Greate  Pond;  and 
on  the  north  by  Nicholas  Browne. 
1647.  Purchased  of  Hugh  Burt  of  Linn  80  acres  lying 

[13] 


in  Redding,  east  by  Thomas  Marshall  j  north  by  John 
Poolj  west  by  the  Create  Pondj  and  south  by  Nicholas 
Browne 

1647.  Given  by  ye  Towne  of  Redding,  30  acres  of  up- 
land j  north  by  John  Persons  j  south  by  Capt.  Richard 
Walker. 

1647.  Given  30  acres  of  medow  bounded  north-west 
by  medow  of  Josiah  Dustin  &  part  of  ye  swamp  on  the 
south-east  and  all  the  corner  of  medow  from  Josiah 

Duston  in  the  end  of  medow  next  to Dosten's  and 

Thomas  Hutchinson  that  may  be  called  Bear  Medow." 
(The  Reading  Town  Book  was  transcribed  in  168 1  and 
in  describing  boundaries,  the  names  of  owners  at  that 
date  are  often  substituted  for  earlier  ones.  This  accounts 
for  the  name  of  Hananiah  Parker  under  date  of  1642, 
when  he  was  only  four  years  of  age ! )  In  the  divisions 
of  Reading  common  lands,  he  was  given  many  acres,  so 
that  in  all  he  owned  more  than  a  square  mile. 

Nicholas  Browne  was  a  selectman  for  several  years, 
and  a  commissioner  with  the  venerable  Peter  Palfrey, 
"to  end  small  causes."  His  death  occurred  in  1673. 

Capt.  John  Browne,  son  of  Nicholas  Browne,  was  one 
of  the  most  highly  valued  and  respected  citizens  in  the 
long  history  of  Redding.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
selectman,  representative,  justice  and  captain.  For  a 
long  period,  his  was  the  only  name  in  Town  Records, 
except  that  of  the  ministers,  given  the  honorable  title 
of  "  Mister."  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  was  a  granddaughter 
of  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley,  the  wise  and  benevolent  founder 
of  Concord.  The  Emersons  of  Redding  and  Concord  are 

[14] 


descendants  of  Peter  Bulkeley.  John  Browne  died  in 
1 71 7  at  the  age  of  83  years.  His  gravestone  in  Wake- 
field bears  the  following  tribute: 

"  Witty,  yet  wise,  grave,  good,  among  the  best 
Was  he, —  the  memory  of  the  just  is  blest." 

THOMAS  PARKER 

In  1638,  Thomas  Parker  was  granted  30  acres  and 
tenn.  Records  in  the  Middlesex  Registry  prove  that  the 
location  of  this  lot  was  on  the  knoll,  north-east  of  the 
present  Town  Hall  in  Wakefield.  To  the  west  was  the 
homestead  of  Rev.  Samuel  Haughj  on  the  south,  the 
house  and  mill  of  John  Poole  3  on  the  north,  extending 
along  the  east  side  of  the  Common,  the  land  of  Thomas 
Weston  3  and  on  the  east  Timothy  Willard,  John  Poole 
and  3  acres  of  meadow  to  the  south  of  said  Poole.  (See 
Theodore  Parker's  Life  of  Capt.  John  Parker  of 
Lexington.) 

It  is  a  family  tradition  that  Thomas  Parker  first  set- 
tled in  Saugus,  and  Weiss,  in  his  Life  of  Rev.  Theodore 
Parker,  locates  his  homestead  near  the  west  side  of  the 
Saugus  River,  eighty  rods  south  of  the  old  Iron  Works. 
He  embarked  from  London,  March  11,  1635,  in  the 
^usan  and  Ellen ^  fitted  out  by  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall. 
Fellow  passengers  were  Richard  Saltonstall  jr.  with  wife 
and  children.  The  families  were  related  as  is  shown  in 
Waters'  "  Genealogical  Gleanings  in  England."  Thomas 
Parker  became  a  freeman  May  17,  1637.  He  was  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age  on  his  arrival  in  New  England. 
Perhaps  he  had  been  married  in  England,  for  there  is 

[15] 


no  record  of  his  wife  Amy here.  They  had  eleven 

children.  The  church  registers  of  Reading,  England, 
contain  the  names  of  many  Parkers,  but  none  of  a  date 
that  could  apply  to  Deacon  Thomas.  Some  reliable 
authors  believe  that  he  was  the  Thomas  Parker  baptized 
at  Little  Norton  in  1 609,  as  second  son  of  John. 

He  was  a  deacon  from  the  organization  of  the  Red- 
ding Church  until  his  death,  a  period  of  nearly  forty 
years.  He  was  a  selectman  for  several  terms  and  a  Com- 
missioner with  Deacons  Cowdrey  and  Kendall  to  end 
small  causes. 

He  died  in  August,  1683,  and  his  wife  Amy  died  in 
January,  1690.  The  oldest  gravestone  in  the  cemetery 
in  Wakefield  has  this  inscription: 

Memento  Mori  Fugit  Hora 
Here  lyeth  within  this  Arched  place  ye  body 
of  Deacon  Thomas  Parker  who  was  won  of  ye 
Foundation  of  ye  Church  who  dyed  ye 
12  August  1683.  Aged  about  74  years. 

Lieut.  Hananiah  Parker,  his  son  and  executor,  inherited 
the  homestead  and  bequeathed  it  to  his  son  John,  who 
moved  to  Lexington  in  1 7 1 2  and  sold  it  to  his  neighbor, 
Jonathan  Poole,  a  grandson  of  John  Poole,  miller. 

Deacon  Parker  gave  a  farm  to  each  of  his  sons.  As 
they  had  large  families,  his  descendants  are  very  numer- 
ous. Two  whose  names  will  long  be  highly  honored  were 
Capt.  John  Parker,  who  led  the  Minute  Men  on  Lex- 
ington Common,  April  19,  1775J  and  Rev.  Theodore 

[16] 


Parker,  a  fearless  opponent  of  slavery  during  the  years 
when  wealthy  merchants,  public  officials,  and  many 
clergymen  of  Boston  favored  it.  He  was  indicted  for 
resisting  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

Three  of  Deacon  Parker's  sons  were  in  Philip's  In- 
dian War  in  1676, —  one  died  of  wounds.  Dr.  Moses 
Parker  of  Lowell  gathered  the  records  of  twenty-seven 
descendants  of  Thomas  Parker  who  served  in  the  Colo- 
nial Wars,  and  thirty-five  who  were  soldiers  in  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

ZACHARY  FITCH 

The  grant  to  Zachary  Fitch  in  1638  was  30  acres  and 
tenn.  His  homestead  was  on  Fitch's  Lane,  the  present 
Salem  Street  in  Wakefield.  Like  other  Pond-Side  lots, 
its  eastern  boundary  was  the  "Lott  End  Road,"  now 
Vernon  Street.  His  name  with  that  of  Cowdrey,  Poole 
and  Browne,  is  mentioned  in  a  petition  to  the  Court  in 
1645,  ^s  having  moved  from  Lynn,  where  he  had  been 
a  large  taxpayer.  He  was  one  of  the  first  selectmen  of 
Redding  and  a  deacon  from  the  organization  of  the 
Church  until  his  death  in  1662.  His  son  Benjamin  was 
a  deacon  and  his  grandson  Joseph  was  captain  of  the 
Reading  Company.  Zachary  Fitch  was  born  in  St.  Aliens, 
England,  was  a  freeman  in  Salem  and  moved  to  Lynn  in 
1638.  Deposed  in  1661  that  his  age  was  about  70.  He 
was  nearly  50  when  he  came  to  Lynn  Village,  and  so 
was  much  older  than  the  other  planters. 

JOHN  SMITH 

John  Smith  had  a  grant  of  60  acres  in  1 638/9. 

[17] 


In  1653,  t^^  committee  that  settled  the  boundary  be- 
tween Lynn  and  Lynn  Village  mentioned  John  Smith's 
land  and  east  end  of  John  Hawkes'  farm  which  John 
Smith  then  owned,  as  the  bound  between  the  two  towns. 

This  John  Smith  was  a  freeman  of  Lynn  in  1633  and 
not  the  Lieut.  John  Smith,  son  of  Francis,  who  came  to 
Redding  from  Chelsea  after  his  father's  death  in  1650. 

He  settled  first  in  Maine  and,  alarmed  by  Indian 
raids,  came  by  night  to  Danvers,  then  to  Lynn,  and  later 
to  Lynnfield.  His  son,  Amos  Smith,  married  Abigail 
Hart  and  they  kept  a  tavern  on  the  old  road  from  Red- 
ding to  Haverhill.  In  1 895,  a  Henry  Smith  lived  on  the 
farm  cleared  by  his  great-grandfather  Amos.  Near  the 
house,  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  was  a  spring  giv- 
ing forth  sixty  gallons  per  minute.  This  farm  and  house 
are  now  used  by  the  Sagamore  Golf  Club.  The  land  was 
part  of  the  500  acres  granted  in  1638  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Willis,  the  wealthy  English  schoolmaster  whose  heirs 
sold  it  to  Isaac  Hart. 

THOMAS  MARSHALL 

Thomas  Marshall  was  granted  30  acres  and  tenn  by 
the  Town  of  Lynn  in  1638.  His  Redding  homestead 
was  on  the  knoll  north-east  of  the  Wakefield  Town 
Hall.  In  1655,  when  he  borrowed  £282  of  Robert 
Bridges  of  Saugus,  he  pledged  "16  acres  at  or  neere  the 
dwelling  of  said  Thomas  Marshall,  having  the  land  of 
Thomas  Parker  on  the  north  side,  land  of  John  Poole 
on  the  east  side  and  the  common  highway  on  the  south 
and  west  sides.  Also  5  acres  of  medow  below  the  corn- 

[18] 


mill,  bounded  north  and  east  by  John  Pool  and  south 
and  west  by  John  Smith.  Also  any  houses,  barns,  orchards 
and  gardens." 

Thomas  Marshall  sailed  from  London  in  1635  in  the 
JameSy  and  settled  west  of  the  Saugus  River  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Thomas  Parker  and  Richard  Walker.  He 
and  his  wife  were  early  members  of  the  Redding 
Church  J  he  was  a  selectman  from  1647  ^0  1652.  He 
shared  in  divisions  of  Redding  land  in  those  years,  but 
not  thereafter,  as  he  went  to  England  and  became  a 
captain  in  the  Army  of  the  Commonwealth.  On  his 
return  to  New  England,  he  was  a  representative  from 
Lynn  during  1659,  '60,  '63,  '64  ^^^  '^^-  ^^  was  elected 
lieutenant  of  the  Lynn  Company  in  1657.  ^^  bought 
the  famous  Anchor  Tavern  of  Joseph  Armitage,  a 
cousin  of  John  Pool  and  was  its  landlord  for  many  years. 
He  entertained  many  notable  persons  on  their  journeys 
between  Boston  and  Salem,  and  was  noted  for  relating 
in  great  detail  his  important  connection  with  Cromwell's 
Army.  John  Humfrey,  Edward  Tomlins,  Richard 
Walker,  Robert  Bridges,  and  Thomas  Marshall,  all  of 
Lynn,  were  members  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company.  The  death  of  Thomas  Marshall 
was  in  1689. 

RICHARD  WALKER 

In  the  Church  Registers  of  Reading,  England,  there 
are  many  records  of  persons  bearing  the  name  of  Walker. 
There  is  a  Richard  Walker,  born  in  1690,  who  may  have 
been  the  father  of  Richard  of  Reading,  Massachusetts. 

[19] 


In  1631-32,  the  death  of  Marjorie  Walker,  wife  of 
Richard,  is  recorded  j  and  in  1643  there  is  the  marriage 
of  Richard  Walker  and  Sara  Hemstead.  Now  our  Rich- 
ard Walker  was  in  Lynn  during  1630  and  went  back  to 
England  soon  after,  for  his  name  and  year  of  birth  appear 
in  the  London  Shipping  Office  in  1634,  when  he  came 
a  second  time  to  New  England.  His  wife's  name  was 
Sarah.  In  1642  he  was  given  a  "homestall"  in  Lynn 
Village,  and  may  have  brought  his  bride  there  from 
Redding,  England. 

He  was  the  most  enterprising  and  the  most  widely 
known  of  the  promoters  and  early  settlers  of  Ancient 
Redding.  His  long  life  was  full  of  adventure  and  of 
service  for  the  Colony  and  the  towns  in  which  he 
lived.  Yet,  only  a  few  indefinite  statements  about  him 
are  found  in  the  histories  of  Lynn  and  Reading.  This  is 
due  to  a  curious  error  as  to  the  year  of  his  birth,  which 
led  to  the  belief  that  there  were  two  persons, —  a  father 
and  a  son, —  bearing  this  name,  and  also  to  confusion 
arising  from  his  having  moved  from  Lynn  to  Reading, 
then  to  Boston,  and  afterwards  to  Lynn,  a  second  time. 

According  to  several  depositions,  he  was  born  in  161 2. 
Gov.  Winthrop  speaks  of  his  being  in  Salem  in  1629. 
In  the  suit  of  Lynn  vs.  Dexter  (Essex  Court),  Richard 
Walker  testified  that  the  Governor  gave  him  and  others 
leave  to  go  where  they  would  and  that  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  go  to  Lynn. 

He  was  ensign  of  the  Lynn  Company  in  1 63 1  when 
the  Taratine  Indians  made  a  night  attack  on  the  Town. 

[20] 


Capt.  Edward  Johnson  of  Woburn  described  it  as 
follows: 

"Near  Sawgus  in  the  dead  of  Night  being  on  their 
Watch  because  of  the  Report  of  the  Indians  approach, 
Lieut.  Walker  a  man  indued  with  Faith  and  a  courageous 
Spirit,  coming  to  relieve  the  Centinely  they  of  a  sudden 
hear  the  Sticks  break  near  them  and  withal  He  felt 
something  brush  hard  on  his  Shoulder  which  was  an 
Indian  Arrow  shot  through  his  Coat  and  the  wing  of 
his  buff  Jacket.  Upon  this  he  discharges  his  Culliver 
toward  the  Place  where  they  heard  the  Noise  which 
being  deeply  laden  breaks  in  Pieces.  They  then  return 
to  the  Court  of  Guard.  Coming  to  the  Light  they  per- 
ceive He  has  another  Arrow  shot  thru  his  Coat  between 
his  Legs.  They  stand  on  their  Guard  till  morning  ex- 
pecting the  Indians  to  come  upon  them  every  Moment. 
When  Daylight  appears  they  send  Word  to  other  Parts 
whence  divers  come  together  and  to  quit  themselves  of 
these  Indians  discharge  their  great  Guns.  The  redou- 
bling of  Ecchos  rattling  in  the  Rocks  causes  the  Indians 
to  betake  themselves  to  Flight." 

According  to  early  Massachusetts  Bay  historians,  one 
hundred  of  these  Eastern  Indians  in  thirty  canoes  at- 
tacked Ipswich,  slaying  seven  men  and  wounding  the 
Sagamores  John  and  James  Quannapowitt. 

Richard  Walker  served  with  other  Lynn  men  in  the 
Pequot  War.  He  became  a  skilled  surveyor  and  in 
1638/9  by  order  of  the  Town,  he  and  Daniel  Howe 
laid  out  the  lots  in  Lynn  Village  and  the  farms  in  Lynn 
Fields. 

[21] 


A  record  in  the  Reading  Book  of  Lands  and  Ways  is 
as  follows:  "  Given  at  a  General  Town  Meeting  in  1642 
to  Richard  Walker,  27  acres  on  the  Plain  at  the  west 
side  of  the  Greate  Pondj  bounded  north-west  by  Mat- 
thew Edwards,  south  by  the  highway,  and  east  by  the 
Greate  Pond." 

"Also,  in  1642,  10  acres  being  a  neck  of  upland 
bounded  west  by  Mr.  Samuel  Haugh  and  north  by  a 
little  river  that  runs  between  beech  neck  and  this  land." 

This  land  between  Elm  Street  and  the  Greate  Pond 
was  his  homestall.  The  great  width  of  Elm  Street  indi- 
cates that  it  was  used  as  a  training  field  for  the  company 
of  which  he  was  the  first  captain. 

He  was  a  selectman  of  Redding  from  1647  ^^  1650 
and  in  '53,  and  its  first  representative  to  the  General 
Court. 

In  I  Gs'}^^  Richard  Walker  and  Thomas  Marshall  were 
appointed  by  the  Court  to  settle  the  boundary  between 
the  towns  of  Redding  and  Lynn.  They  also  laid  out  the 
County  Road  from  Andover  to  Redding. 

In  1 645,  the  Court  sent  Capt.  Bridges,  Lieut.  Walker 
and  Sergt.  Marshall  to  Acadia,  to  negotiate  the  conflict- 
ing claims  between  La  Tour  and  D'Aulney.  For  their 
"good  services  in  this  embassy,"  Capt.  Bridges  was 
given  £10,  Lieut.  Walker  £4  and  Sergt.  Marshall  40^! 

Richard  Walker  was  employed  for  many  years  in  the 
interest  of  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  who  was  engaged  in 
trade  on  the  coast  of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia.  They 
owned  several  vessels  used  in  their  fur  trade  with  the 
Indians.  Sir  Thomas  was  appointed  Governor  of  Acadia 

[22] 


by  Cromwell  and  Richard  Walker  became  the  Deputy 
Governor  from  1662  until  1670.  On  the  restoration  of 
Charles  II,  Sir  Thomas,  a  nephew  of  the  Earl  of  Lin- 
coln, was  deprived  of  his  rights  and  ordered  to  return 
Acadia  to  the  French  King.  A  tablet  at  Castine  bears 
the  following  inscription: 

"Here  landed,  Aug.  5,  1670,  Chevalier  de  Grand 
Fontaine  Governor  of  Acadia  accompanied  by  Captain 
de  Chambly  Baron  of  St.  Castine  his  other  officers  sol- 
diers and  savages.  Here  on  that  date  he  received  the 
surrender  of  Fort  Pentagoet  from  Captain  Richard 
Walker  deputy  for  Sir  Thomas  Temple  Governor  and 
people."  This  surrender  included  the  forts  at  Castine, 
St.  John,  Port  Royal  and  Cape  Sable. 

In  1666,  Richard  Walker  moved  to  the  North  End  in 
Boston.  He  and  Hon.  Hezekiah  Usher,  Chairman  of 
the  Boston  Selectmen,  were  trustees  of  the  Old  North 
Church  to  secure  and  hold  a  house  for  the  Rev.  Increase 
Mather.  This  burned  during  the  Great  Fire  of  1676J 
and  the  house  that  replaced  it  became  the  home  of  Paul 
Revere  and  has  been  restored. 

His  son,  Obadiah  Walker,  bought  lOOO  acres  at 
Woolwich  along  the  Kennebec  River,  that  included  the 
site  of  the  present  City  of  Bath.  He  married  Sarah 
Haugh,  the  minister's  daughter  j  her  mother  was  sister 
of  Hezekiah  Usher,  the  rich  and  benevolent  publisher. 

In  1677,  Richard  Walker  sold  his  Boston  property 
to  his  son's  widow  and  returned  to  Lynn  where  his  two 
married  daughters  were  living.  He  was  then  sixty-five 

[231 


years  of  age.  He  was  elected  a  representative  for  two 
terms  and  was  lieutenant  of  the  military  company. 

He  showed  his  abhorrence  of  the  intolerant  spirit  of 
the  authorities  in  religious  matters,  when  he  with  only 
four  other  members  of  the  Court  voted  against  the  exe- 
cution of  Mary  Dyer,  a  Quaker,  hung  on  Boston  Com- 
mon in  1660.*  He  also  opposed  the  Court's  order  for 
the  burning  of  Gov.  Pynchon's  books.  Sir  Richard 
Saltonstall  wrote  from  England  a  manly  letter  of  re- 
monstrance against  bigotry  to  the  ministers  of  Boston 
First  Church. 

He  died  in  1687  ^^  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 
Judge  Sewall  wrote  in  his  diary:  "Monday,  May  16, 
I  go  and  visit  Rev.  Mr.  Brock  in  Redding  and  to  Salem. 
Capt.  Richard  Walker  a  very  aged  planter  is  buried  at 
Lin  j  a  very  good  man." 


*  Her  son,  William  Dyer,  was  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York  and 

Collector  of  Customs  for  America.   In  his  will,  1690,  he  gave  20  acres 

of  land  in  Redding,  Mass.,  to  his  wife,  Mary   (Walker)    Dyer.    Her 

descendants  claim  that  she  was  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Richard  Walker. 

See  Neiv  England  Historical  Register,  January,  1944. 

[24] 


REASONS /or  M^   NAME  OF  REDDING 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

TWO  things  may  have  led  to  the  choice  of  Red- 
ding as  a  name  for  Lynn  Village.  The  Parish 
Registers  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Elizabeth  in 
Reading,  England,  have  records  of  many  Cow- 
dreys,  Pooles,  Brownes,  Parkers,  Marshalls  and  Walk- 
ers, but,  with  the  exception  of  John  Poole  and  Richard 
Walker,  there  are  no  records  of  persons  with  Christian 
names  at  a  date  that  could  refer  to  inhabitants  of  Red- 
ding, Massachusetts.  While  it  is  probable  that  Reading, 
England,  was  the  home  of  some  of  our  Redding  ances- 
tors, we  have  no  family  records  that  confirm  this  belief. 
A  second  reason  for  the  name  may  have  been  the 
deep  interest  taken  by  Lynn  inhabitants  in  the  great 
struggle  then  being  waged  by  Parliament  against  the 
tyranny  of  King  Charles  and  Archbishop  Laud.  Life  and 
property  had  not  been  safe  for  years,  and  thousands  of 
the  best  English  citizens  had  fled  to  New  England.  Read- 
ing, England,  had  taken  a  bold  stand  for  its  rights.  It 
was  an  inland  town  and  had  refused  to  pay  ship-money, 
a  tax  laid  to  provide  the  King  with  money  that  Parlia- 
ment had  refused  to  give  him.  In  1644,  the  year  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Lynn  Village  chose  Redding  as  the 
name  of  their  Town,  the  Royal  Army  was  defeated  in 
a  fierce  battle  at  Reading,  England. 

Lieut.-Gov.  John  Humfrey  of  Lynn  was  one  of  the 
six  men  who  secured  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay 

[25] 


Colony  J  his  wife,  Lady  Susan,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln  whose  house  was  the  social  center  of 
the  Puritan  party.  John  Humfrey  lived  in  Swampscott  j 
in  1635  the  Court  granted  him  a  square  mile  of  land 
surrounding  Humfrey's  Pond  (Suntaug  Lake)  in  Lynn- 
field  j  John  Poole  came  to  Massachusetts  with  Lieut.- 
Gov.  Dudley,  who  had  been  the  steward  of  the  EarPs 
estate  j  the  largest  grant  of  Lynn  land  made  in  1638  was 
the  800  acres  south  of  the  Ipswich  River  and  east  of  the 
present  Haverhill  Street  in  North  Reading  given  to  Lord 
Brooks.  He  was  a  leader  in  the  Parliamentary  Army  who 
lost  his  life  in  the  Siege  of  St.  Chad  in  1643,  before  he 
could  carry  out  plans  to  seek  a  refuge  in  New  England  j 
Thomas  Marshall  returned  to  England  and  fought  un- 
der Cromwell  5  Mr.  Richard  Sadler,  the  first  Town 
Clerk  of  Lynn  who  was  granted  200  acres  south  of  the 
Ipswich  River  in  1638,  returned  to  England,  preached 
at  Ludlow  until  he  was  silenced  at  the  time  of  the  Res- 
toration j  Rev.  Samuel  Whiting,  the  beloved  minister  in 
Lynn  for  forty-three  years,  was  banished  from  England 
and  came  to  Lynn  in  1636.  His  father  had  been  Lord 
Mayor  of  London  j  Elizabeth  Metcalf,  wife  of  Thomas 
Bancroft  the  emigrant  of  Lynnfield,  was  a  daughter  of 
Michael  of  Dedham,  who  fled  from  England  with  his 
family  because  his  life  was  threatened  by  Bishop  Wren. 
The  pioneers  of  Lynn  Village  had  sufficient  reason 
for  their  great  interest  in  the  Civil  War  and  may  have 
chosen  Redding  as  a  name  for  their  town  as  a  means  of 
showing  their  sympathy  and  appreciation  of  the  great 
struggle  for  human  rights  that  was  being  waged  in  the 
Redding  of  their  ancestors. 

[26] 


EARLY  SETTLERS  FROM 
NEIGHBORING  TOWNS   MENTIONED 
IN   THE   MEADOW  GRANT  OF   1647 


THIS  grant  comprised  meadow  lots  from  five  to 
thirty  acres,  highly  prized  before  settlers  had 
cleared  their  uplands.  The  division  was  as  fol- 
lows: "  For  every  person  two  acres  and  for  every 
beast  one  acre."  Town  Records  contain  a  list  of  the 
twenty-nine  inhabitants  who  were  granted  land  at  this 
time  and  among  them  were  twenty  new  settlers  from 
neighboring  towns.  They  became  sterling  citizens  and 
many  of  their  descendants  have  served  the  Town  faith- 
fully in  responsible  positions  during  the  three  centuries 
of  its  history. 

REV.  HENRY  GREEN 

The  minister  was  given  17  acres.  He  was  born  in 
Great  Bromley,  Essex  County,  England,  in  161 8-19, 
and  was  admitted  to  Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge, 
in  1634.  He  entered  Harvard  College  and  is  listed  by 
Samuel  Eliot  Morison  among  its  early  graduates.  He 
was  a  freeman  of  Watertown  in  May,  1640,  and  was 
granted  a  lot  of  72  acres  in  1642.  When  Thomas  May- 
hew  and  other  Watertown  men  bought  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, they  hoped  to  secure  young  Henry  Green  for  their 
minister,  "  but  he  went  not." 

[27] 


According  to  Bond's  Watertown,  he  was  ordained  as 
the  minister  in  Redding,  Nov.  5,  1 645,  and  died  there 
on  Oct.  1 1,  1648.  His  wife  was  Frances  Stone,  daughter 
of  Dea.  Simon  Stone  of  Watertown.  She  came  from 
Ipswich,  England,  in  1635  at  the  age  of  16  years  with 
her  father  aged  50  years. 

Gov.  Winthrop  spoke  of  Henry  Green  as  "  a  scholar," 
and  Edward  Johnson  of  Woburn,  the  early  historian  of 
New  England  churches,  said:  "He  was  a  man  of  toil, 
faithful  and  devoted  to  his  work  and  early  fell." 

FRANCIS  SMITH 

Francis  Smith  was  given  30  acres  in  1647.  His  name 
in  the  handwriting  of  the  second  minister.  Rev.  Samuel 
Haugh,  stands  first  in  the  list  of  early  church  members. 
He  was  a  proprietor  of  Watertown  in  1 632  and  131  acres 
of  land  were  granted  to  him.  He  was  admitted  as  a  free- 
man in  1 63 1,  and  probably  came  to  New  England  as  a 
member  of  Gov.  Winthrop's  company.  His  name  is 
not  found  in  the  Watertown  records  after  1642.  He  and 
his  son,  Lieut.  John  Smith,  went  to  Chelsea  where  they 
leased  the  Ferry  Farm.  The  Mass.  Colonial  Records, 
Vol.  2,  states  that  "  Good  man  Smith  of  Winnissimmet 
hath  liberty  to  sell  wine  and  keep  a  house  of  common 
intertan'mt."  It  was  customary  for  magistrates  and 
others  to  stop  at  the  Ferry  Farm  on  their  journeys  from 
Salem  to  Boston. 

He  came  to  Redding  in  1646  and  bought  the  great 
farm  given  to  Mr.  Edward  Howell  by  the  Town  of 
Lynn  in  1638.  Mr.  Howell  was  a  leader  of  a  group  of 

[28] 


Lynn  inhabitants  who  settled  Southampton,  Long 
Island.  In  Essex  Records,  Vol.  7,  p.  83,  the  grantors, 
Richard  Walker  and  Thomas  Marshall,  declared  "  That 
the  500  acres  sold  to  Francis  Smith  are  free  of  all  man- 
ner of  former  bargains,  gifts,  grants  and  sales,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  to  the  day  of  the  date  thereof." 
It  is  described  as  "  bounded  south  by  the  common  land 
of  the  town  of  Mauldenj  south-east  by  the  common 
lands  of  the  town  of  Boston  j  east  by  the  land  of  Richard 
Roolton  of  Linn;  north  by  a  little  river  and  the  land  of 
Thomas  Clark  and  Lt.  Thomas  Marshall."  It  was  east 
of  Smith's  Pond  (Crystal  Lake)  and  extended  through 
the  rocky  hills  to  the  Saugus  bounds.  The  Boston  land 
mentioned  was  a  panhandle  that  ran  north  to  the  Three 
County  Bounds  south  of  Castle  Hill. 

Francis  Smith  was  a  member  of  Redding's  first  Board 
of  Selectmen  in  1647,  '49-  ^^^  death  occurred  in  1651. 

Rev.  Samuel  Francis  Smith,  the  author  of  our  national 
hymn,  America,  was  a  descendant  of  Francis  Smith.  The 
mother  of  the  poet  was  Sarah  Bryant,  a  daughter  of 
Amos  of  Redding.  {Boston  Transcript y  Mar.  9,  1940.) 

LIEUT.  JOHN  SMITH 

Lieut.  John  Smith  remained  in  charge  of  the  Ferry 
and  its  Farm  after  his  father's  death.  He  inherited  the 
Redding  farm  and  was  a  selectman  during  most  of  the 
time  from  1650  to  '64.  He  had  six  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  sons  married  and  settled  on  the  great 
Smith  farm.  Francis,  a  son  of  Lieut.  John  Smith,  in- 
herited the  Redding  homestead  near  Crystal  Lake.  He 

[29] 


was  a  deacon,  town  clerk  and  selectman  for  many  years. 
He  married  Ruth  Maverick  of  Chelsea,  a  daughter  of 
Elias  and  Ann.  The  mother  died  in  Redding  and  was 
buried  in  the  old  graveyard  there. 

Elias  Maverick  of  Chelsea  and  Samuel,  his  brother, 
of  East  Boston,  were  members  of  Robert  Gorges  com- 
pany that  sailed  from  Plymouth,  England,  in  August, 
1623.  The  Mavericks  carried  on  a  trading-post  near 
their  dwelling,  and  the  Island,  now  East  Boston,  was 
granted  to  them  by  the  General  Court  in  1633.  Other 
members  of  Gorges  company  were  Rev.  William  Black- 
stone  who  built  his  lonely  habitation  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Shawmut  Peninsula,  and  Thomas  Walford, 
the  blacksmith,  at  Mishauwum  (Charlestown).  These 
early  settlers  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England.  They 
were  wealthy  and  educated.  They  welcomed  the  great 
company  of  nonconformist  Puritans  who  came  with 
Gov.  Winthrop,  and  showed  them  every  kindness  dur- 
ing the  hardships  of  their  first  winter  in  Charlestown 
and  Boston.  After  a  short  time,  their  kindness  was  for- 
gotten j  they  could  not  become  freemen  and  take  part  in 
the  local  government  unless  they  joined  the  Puritan 
Church  of  Boston  j  they  were  made  to  feel  that  they 
were  not  desirable  neighbors  and  they  moved  to  more 
hospitable  places. 

PETER  PALFREY 

Although  not  an  inhabitant  of  Redding  until  after 
the  Meadow  Grant,  mention  will  be  made  here  of  Peter 
Palfrey,  because  of  his  connection  with  the  Smith  fam- 

[30] 


ily  and  because  he  was  one  of  the  "  old  planters  "  who 
settled  on  the  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay  years  before 
the  arrival  of  Gov.  Winthrop.  He  came  from  Salem  and 
was  a  selectman  in  Redding  during  1652,  '53  and  '57. 
In  1658  he  was  given  a  large  tract  of  land  north  of  the 
Ipswich  River,  and  a  lot  of  upland  in  the  Wood-End 
between  Woburn  bounds  and  the  present  West  Street, 
south  of  the  twenty  acres  that  Ens.  Bancroft  of  Lynnfield 
gave  to  his  son  Thomas  and  Sarah  Poole  in  1675  at  the 
time  of  their  marriage. 

In  1658  the  General  Court  appointed  Peter  Palfrey, 
William  Cowdrey  and  Nicholas  Browne,  commission- 
ers to  end  small  cases.  One  record  speaks  of  his  being 
"  much  betrusted,"  and  he  was  described  as  being  "  ven- 
erable." 

His  daughter,  Jehoidan,  married  Benjamin  Smith, 
a  son  of  Francis.  Another  daughter,  Hannah,  married 
Matthew  Johnson,  son  of  Capt.  Edward  of  Woburn, 
the  ancient  historian  of  Massachusetts  Bay  settlements. 

The  Probate  Records  of  Middlesex  contain  the  fol- 
lowing quaint  agreement:  "  Oct.  i,  1664.  Edward  John- 
son aged  about  6s  and  Susan  his  wife  aged  about  66, 
testifie  that  Peter  Palfray  of  Redding  comeing  to  our 
house  to  mak  up  the  match  between  our  sonne  Mathew 
Johnson  and  his  eldest  daughter  Hannah  Palfray,  £50 
was  accepted  from  Mr.  Palfrey  to  be  paid  out  of  his 
estate.  Signed,  Edward  Johnson."  This  couple  are  an- 
cestors of  President  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt. 

Peter  Palfrey  died  in  1663,  "well  stricken  in  years." 
He  came  to  Cape  Ann  in  1624  in  the  company  of  four- 

[31] 


teen  men  fitted  out  by  Rev.  John  White  of  Dorchester, 
England,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  depot  of  sup- 
plies for  the  fishermen  on  the  coast.  They  landed  at 
Gloucester  and  built  a  stage  for  drying  fish.  "The  ill 
choice  of  the  place  for  fishing,  the  ill  carriage  of  the 
men,  and  the  ill  sales  of  the  fish  led  to  failure,  and  the 
company  with  the  exception  of  Peter  Palfrey  and  three 
other  honest  and  prudent  men  returned  to  England." 
Conant,  Palfrey,  Balch  and  Woodbury  removed  to 
Naumkeag  (Salem).  Here  they  settled  in  1626.  Gov. 
Endicott  joined  them  with  a  small  company  two  years 
later,  and  Gov.  Winthrop  with  a  thousand  persons  and 
twelve  vessels  arrived  in  June,  1630. 

THOMAS  KENDALL 

Thomas  Kendall  had  14  acres  of  the  Meadow  Grant 
of  1647.  He  and  his  brother,  Francis,  were  in  Charles- 
town  before  1 640.  Francis  went  to  Woburn  by  1 642,  and 
was  a  deacon  of  the  church  there.  Thomas  went  to  Lynn, 
and  came  to  Redding  at  about  the  time  of  its  incorpora- 
tion. In  the  list  of  early  members,  after  Francis  Smith 
are  the  names  of  Deacons  Cowdrey,  Kendall,  Parker 
and  Pearson.  He  was  a  selectman  for  many  years,  and 
a  very  influential  citizen. 

The  homestead  of  Thomas  Kendall  and  his  wife 
Rebecca was  near  Church  and  Cedar  Streets,  Wake- 
field. This  couple  had  no  sons,  but  eight  daughters  who 
married,  settled  in  Redding,  and  have  many  descendants. 
The  names  of  their  husbands  and  the  location  of  their 
homesteads  are  as  follows: 

[32] 


Sergt.  John  Parker  and  Hannah,  south-west  slope  of 
Cowdrey's  Hill,  on  Prospect  St.,  ancestors  of  the  Parker 
families  of  Hill-End  and  Franklin  St.  j 

Sergt.  Abraham  Briant  and  Mary,  north  slope  of 
Cowdrey's  Hill,  on  Elm  St.  3  they  gave  30  acres  to 
Abraham  jr.  and  Sarah  Bancroft  when  they  built  Parker 
Tavern,  16945 

Sergt.  James  Boutwell  and  Rebecca,  on  Elm  St.  j  their 
son  Dea.  Thomas  inherited  his  Grandfather  Kendall's 
homestead 5  the  Boutwells  later  moved  to  the  Dana 
Parker  farm  adjoining  Memorial  Park,  Readings 

John  Nichols  and  Abigail,  Elm  near  Winn  St.,  on  a 
farm  that  was  Capt.  Richard  Walker's  3  this  family 
moved  to  Reading,  near  the  intersection  of  North  Main 
and  Pearl  Sts.j  Ens.  Nathaniel  Goodwin  and  Susanna, 
Elm  and  Prospect  Sts.  3  he  was  a  representative,  select- 
man, and  town  clerk  for  many  years  j 

John  Eaton  and  Elizabeth  inherited  the  William 
Eaton  farm  east  of  the  Pondj 

John  Pearson  jr.  and  Tabithaj  his  father  came  from 
Lynn  and  was  one  of  the  first  seven  church  members  in 
Redding  j  they  moved  to  Lynnfieldj 

Sam'l  Dunton  jr.  and  Sarah,  Water  St.,  near  the  grist- 
mill. 

Dea.  Francis  Kendall  of  Woburn  in  his  will  gave  a 
gold  ring  to  each  of  his  eight  nieces.  A  daughter  of  Dea. 
Francis  was  the  wife  of  Joshua  Eaton  of  Reading.  Dea. 
Thomas  Kendall  died  in  1681  and  Rebecca  his  wife, 
who  survived  him  until  1 703,  died  at  the  age  of  85  years. 
Her  gravestone  bore  the  following  inscription: 

[33] 


"Here  lyeth  the  mother  of  ten  who  had  175  grand 
and  great-grandchildren." 

JONAS  EATON 

The  Meadow  Grant  of  Jonas  Eaton  was  1 1  acres.  He 
and  his  brother  William  embarked  from  Sandwich  in 
1635,  and  settled  in  Watertown.  Jonas  came  to  Reading 
before  1647,  ^^^  William  remained  in  Watertown  for 
several  years.  The  homestead  of  Jonas  was  on  the  north- 
west slope  of  Cowdrey's  Hill  where  he  made  use  of  Bare 
Hill  Brook,  for  he  was  a  successful  tanner.  His  estate 
in  1673,  with  hundreds  of  acres  of  land  and  many  cattle, 
was  valued  at  £960.  His  widow,  Grace,  was  provided 
with  a  house  and  an  annuity  j  his  son  Jonas  inherited  the 
homestead j  to  John  he  gave,  "My  house  and  land  at 
the  Pine  Playne  with  medow  adjoining  at  the  west  end 
of  the  Playne,  one  half  of  all  kinds  of  my  cattle  and  100 
Apple  trees  which  he  shall  chuse  out  of  my  orchard;" 
to  Joseph,  Jonathan  and  Joshua,  minors,  he  left  gifts  of 
money. 

The  Pine  Playne  was  the  large  tract  of  land  in  the 
present  Town  of  Reading  through  which  Lowell  Street 
extends  from  Grove  Street  to  the  railroad  bridge;  the 
"Slab  City  Mill,"  built  by  Joseph,  between  1708  and 
'20,  was  near  the  southern  limit  of  the  Pine  Playne ;  the 
brook  from  Birch  Meadow,  flowing  north  into  the  Ips- 
wich River  and  furnishing  power  for  the  mill,  was  called 
the  Reava  River  in  numerous  deeds  as  early  as  1659;  the 
owner  of  the  Playne  is  often  designated  in  Town  Rec- 
ords as  "  John  Eaton  of  the  Playne." 

[34] 


Jonas  Eaton  and  Grace,  his  wife,  were  early  church 
members.  He  was  a  selectman  in  1 650,  '62,  '70  and  '73. 
The  Eatons  for  several  generations  were  successful  tan- 
ners and  large  owners  of  land.  His  son  Joshua  owned 
many  acres  of  land  on  both  sides  of  Summer  Avenue  in 
Reading,  and  in  1698  bought  a  house,  barn,  orchard  and 
meadow  called  Lobs  Pound  with  swamp  and  water  priv- 
ilege. Joshua's  son  Thomas  and  his  grandson  Capt. 
Thomas  succeeded  to  the  homestead  later  known  as  the 
Prescott  farm. 

Eight  descendants  of  Jonas  Eaton  were  in  early  Colo- 
nial Wars.  Others  gave  to  the  Town  many  years  of 
honorable  service.  To  the  Hon.  Lilley  Eaton,  a  descend- 
ant of  Jonas,  we  are  indebted  for  the  History  of  Reading. 

THOMAS  HARTSHORN 

Thomas  Hartshorn,  the  emigrant,  received  only 
5  acres  in  1647.  The  Hartshorne  homestead  for  more 
than  a  century  was  on  the  west  side  of  Elm  Street  oppo- 
site Winn  Street.  After  1800,  Col.  James  purchased  the 
ancient  house  on  Church  Street,  now  owned  by  the 
Wakefield  Historical  Society.  Thomas  Hartshorn  was 
a  freeman  in  1648  and  a  selectman  in  1661  and  '67.  A 
son  and  a  grandson  were  in  the  early  wars,  —  Joseph,  in 
Capt.  Jonathan  Poole's  company  at  Hadley,  in  Philip's 
Indian  War,  and  Jonathan,  a  lieutenant  in  the  8th  com- 
pany under  Col.  Ebenezer  Nichols,  at  the  taking  of 
Louisburg,  Cape  Breton  Island,  in  1745. 

Timothy  Hartshorn,  born  in  1737,  married  Abigail 

[35] 


Nichols  and  purchased  an  Eaton  farm  on  Haverhill 
Street  in  the  Third  Parish. 

Thomas  Hartshorn,  the  emigrant,  was  born  about 
1620,  died  in  Reading,  Mass.,  in  1683.  Parish  Registers 
of  Reading,  England,  do  not  contain  the  name  of 
Hartshorn. 

WILLIAM  HOOPER 

In  1 635,  William  Hooper,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
came  from  England  in  the  JameSy  with  Lieut.  Thomas 
Marshall.  He  became  an  early  inhabitant  of  Redding 
and  in  1647  was  granted  9  acres.  He  probably  built  the 
Hartshorn  House  on  Church  Street,  Wakefield,  and  sold 
it  with  4  acres  of  land  in  1664  to  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Hodgman.  After  that,  his  homestead  was  on  Prospect 
Street,  near  Bare  Hill  Brook  Road.  He  died  in  1673. 
His  son  William  was  a  selectman  of  Redding  and  con- 
tributed for  the  purchase  of  the  Indian  Deed  and  for  the 
erection  of  the  second  Meeting-House. 

ISAAC  HART 

The  Meadow  Grant  to  Isaac  Hart  was  1 5  acres.  He 
came  from  England  in  1637  as  a  servant  of  Richard 
Carver,  lived  first  in  Watertown  where  he  owned  two 
homestalls  j  he  was  in  Lynn  by  1 640,  and  came  to  Red- 
ding before  1647.  He  lived  west  of  the  Wakefield 
Common  and  in  1688  sold  to  the  Town  the  land  upon 
which  the  second  Meeting-House  was  built. 

Isaac  Hart  purchased  two  large  grants  of  Lynnfield 
land.  One  was  500  acres  south  of  Ipswich  River,  given 

[36] 


in  1638  to  Mr.  Thomas  Willis  by  the  Town  of  Lynn, 
on  part  of  which  the  Sagamore  Golf  Course  is  now 
located.  The  other  was  200  acres,  south  of  the  Willis 
grant,  given  to  Edward  Tomlins  who  had  returned  to 
London.  Capt.  Tomlins  was  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Willis 
and  Mrs.  Hart.  (Waters'  "  Gleanings  in  England.") 

Isaac  Hart  moved  to  Lynnfield  and  his  name  is  in 
the  list  of  persons  living  there  who  subscribed  to  the  cost 
of  the  second  Meeting-House  in  Redding. 

JOHN  PERSON 

John  Person  (Pearson)  was  granted  15  acres  in  1647. 
He  was  an  inhabitant  of  Lynn  in  1635.  He  and  his  wife, 
Maudlin,  were  among  the  seven  earliest  members  of  the 
church  in  Redding.  He  was  a  deacon  from  1645  until 
his  death  in  1679.  In  the  records  of  the  Essex  Court, 
there  is  an  inventory  of  his  estate  that  mentions  30  acres 
of  upland  called  the  Newell  Lott,  40  acres  by  John 
Hawkes,  2  acres  in  the  wigwams,  and  80  acres  beyond 
the  Ipswich  River. 

His  name  is  not  among  the  owners  of  Redding  houses 
in  1 667,  as  the  family  had  moved  to  Lynnfield.  Ebenezer 
and  Jonathan  Pearson  fought  the  Indians  in  1725  at 
Dunstable. 

JEREMIAH  SWx^YNE 

Jeremiah  Swayne  received  12  acres  of  the  Meadow 
Grant.  He  was  in  Charlestown  in  1638  and  in  '42  was 
given  2  acres  on  Mystic  Side,  Maiden,  on  condition  that 
he  remain  there.  He  came  to  Redding,  however,  very 
early  and  settled  on  the  old  road  to  Salem,  in  the  eastern 

[37] 


part  of  the  Town.  He  died  in  1658.  His  son  Jeremiah 
and  several  other  descendants  were  physicians. 

Major  Jeremiah  Swayne  jr.,  born  1643J  iriarried  in 
1664,  Mary  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Francis.  He  became 
a  selectman,  representative,  an  assistant  to  the  Governor 
and  an  early  captain  of  the  Reading  company. 

In  the  Great  Swamp  Fight  with  Philip's  Indians  in 
1675,  he  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  ist  Middlesex  Company 
under  Major  Appleton.  These  men  commanded  the 
Massachusetts  soldiers.  "At  daybreak  on  Dec.  19,  the 
troops  began  their  long  march  of  sixteen  miles  through 
intense  cold  and  a  heavy  snow-storm.  They  reached  the 
Indian  fort  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  first 
company  to  cross  the  swamp  and  enter  the  fort  met  with 
a  terrible  fire.  Others  coming  on,  though  suffering  severe 
losses,  drove  the  Indians  from  their  fort  to  the  swamp 
and  woods  beyond  and  set  fire  to  the  fort.  Then  through 
a  bitter,  winter  night,  these  men,  who  had  marched  from 
dawn  till  high  noon,  had  engaged  in  a  desperate  life 
and  death  struggle  from  noon  till  sunset,  now  carrying 
more  than  two  hundred  dead  and  wounded,  plodded  in 
the  deepening  snow  and  unbroken  roads  for  sixteen 
miles  to  their  quarters  of  the  day  before."  A  score  of  the 
wounded  died  during  that  terrible  night  march.  Seven 
captains  leading  their  men  were  killed  and  four  other 
officers  were  wounded  3  among  the  latter  was  Lieut. 
Swayne. 

In  1677,  Capt.  Swayne  led  a  company  of  fifty  men 
and  ten  Indians  from  Richmond  Island  on  the  Kennebec, 
to  Saco  for  the  relief  of  the  settlers  from  Dover  and 

[38] 


Wells.  In  1689,  he  was  given  command  of  seven  Massa- 
chusetts companies  and  others  from  Plymouth,  in  an 
expedition  to  clear  the  border  towns  of  enemies  as  far 
as  Portland. 

He  died  in  1 7 10.  He  bequeathed  to  his  son  Benjamin, 
a  physician,  selectman  and  lieutenant,  his  homestead,  a 
farm  of  170  acres  beyond  the  Ipswich  River,  and  the 
farm  that  Benjamin  was  living  upon. 

To  his  son,  Jeremiah,  he  gave  a  homestead  on  the 
west  side  of  the  present  High  Street,  Reading,  with  the 
house,  barn  and  land  adj  oining,  containing  about  60  acres 
of  upland,  meadow  and  swamp.  It  was  bounded  on  the 
south  by  John  Boutwell  and  Richard  Temple  j  west  by 
the  highway  and  Temple's  Swamp  j  east  by  Jonathan 
Parker's  land  j  north  by  Samuel  Lillie  and  the  highway. 
This  place  on  High  Street  was  the  homestead  of  Benja- 
min M.  Hartshorn,  a  lawyer  of  much  promise,  who  died 
in  1867  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years. 

HENRY  FETCH 

Henry  Felch  sr.  was  given  9  acres  of  the  Meadow 
Grant.  He  was  a  proprietor  in  Gloucester,  sold  his  land 
there  in  1639,  settled  in  Watertown  in  1642,  and  came 
to  Redding  in  1647  where  he  was  a  selectman  in  1647, 
'48  and  '51.  In  1648  he  mortgaged  his  lot  in  Redding 
for  £30  to  John  Batchelder  of  Dedham.  In  1653  it  was 
discharged  and  John  Batchelder  was  then  described  as 
of  Redding.  Henry  Felch  died  in  1699  ^^^  ^is  widow 
Hannah  in  171 7,  at  the  age  of  nearly  lOO  years.  His 
sons,  John,  Joseph,  and  Daniel,  a  "  Practitioner,"  owned 

[39] 


land  in  the  "Wood  End,"  south  of  the  present  Prescott 
Street.  In  1710,  John  Felch  sold  to  Thomas  Eaton  sr., 
for  £372,  a  "Messuage"  with  a  house,  barn,  orchard, 
a  second  house,  and  30  acres  of  landj  the  deed  also 
mentions  a  cider-mill.  North  of  this  messuage  was  the 
homestead  of  Jonathan  Parker  "the  widower,"  whose 
land  included  the  present  Appleton  homestead  on  Wo- 
burn  Street  j  south  was  the  land  of  Dr.  Daniel  Felch  j 
east  and  west  was  the  highway. 

Several  Redding  proprietors  who  shared  the  Meadow 
Grant  in  1647  irioved  to  other  plantations: 

William  Martin  received  14  acres.  He  came  from 
Lynn  and  was  one  of  the  first  selectmen  and  a  freeman 
in  16 S3'  His  name  is  perpetuated  by  Martin's  Pond  and 
Brook  in  North  Reading.  He  was  one  of  ten  men  who 
petitioned  the  Court  in  1655  for  a  plantation  on  the 
Nashua  River,  called  Groton.  In  1676,  when  the  Town 
was  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  they  fled  to  Chelmsford 
on  the  Merrimack  River. 

Samuel  Walker  was  given  14  acres  of  the  Meadow 
Grant.  He  came  to  Boston  in  1634  at  the  age  of  24  years 
with  his  brother  Capt.  Richard  who  was  coming  to 
Lynn  from  England  the  second  time.  He  and  his  wife 
were  dismissed  from  the  church  in  Boston  to  that  in 
Redding  a  short  time  before  the  ordination  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Haugh  in  1650.  He  moved  to  Woburn  after 
1652,  and  was  a  deacon  of  the  church  there. 

Thomas  Marshall,  the  carpenter,  was  given  9  acres 
in  1647.  ^^  ^s  thus  designated  in  the  list  of  church 
members  during  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Samuel  Haugh 

[40] 


and  in  the  land  grant  of  1652.  His  name  does  not  ap- 
pear in  Town  Records  after  that  time. 

Edward  Taylor's  share  in  the  Meadow  Grant  was 
1 1  acres.  He  was  an  early  inhabitant  of  Lynn.  He  and 
his  brother  George  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  east  of 
the  Great  Pondj  forty  acres  of  this  was  a  grant  to  George 
from  the  Town  of  Lynn  in  1638.  In  1675  Edward 
Taylor  sold  200  acres  of  upland  and  swamp  on  the  bor- 
der of  Redding  and  Lynnfield  to  Lieut.  Hananiah 
Parker  and  John  Townsend.  He  had  no  children  and 
it  is  said  that  in  1 690  he  made  a  gift  of  his  house  and  land 
to  John  Pratt  jr.  of  Medfield.  John  Pratt  3'*^  moved  to 
Redding  in  1692  and  was  the  first  of  that  family  to  live 
here.  Edward  Taylor  died  in  1694.  This  farm  was  later 
the  homestead  of  John  White  sr.  and  Lucius  Beebe,  Esq. 

Josiah  Dustin  had  15  acres  in  1647.  ^"^^  was  in  Lynn 
before  1644  and  his  name  is  the  seventh  in  the  list  of 
church  members  of  Lynn  Village.  He  died  in  1671. 

George  Davis  was  given  11  acres  in  1647.  ^^  ^^^  ^ 
proprietor  in  Lynn  and  a  cousin  of  the  worthy  Mr. 
Edward  Holyoke  of  Lynn  and  Lynnfield.  He  was  a 
selectman  of  Redding  in  1655-56  and  '58-^60,  and  Clerk 
of  the  Market  in  1671.  A  son,  Benjamin  Davis,  was  in 
Capt.  Poole's  company  during  King  Philip's  War. 

Thomas  Clark  was  in  Lynn  in  1 640  and  a  selectman 
of  Redding  in  1659.  ^is  Meadow  Grant  was  6  acres. 
His  homestead  was  on  Prospect  Street,  not  far  from 
Bare  Hill  Brook  Road.  Ten  acres  of  his  land  was  sold 
to  Sergt.  John  Parker,  opposite  the  latter's  house,  and 

[41] 


in  1664,  he  sold  his  large  dividend  of  277  acres  north  of 
the  Ipswich  River  to  John  Upton. 

Bad  conditions  connected  with  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  existed  even  as  early  as  1671,  for  "Thomas 
Clark,  Keeper  of  the  Ordinary,  on  his  own  confession 
was  fined  15^  S^  for  suffering  disorderly  persons  in  his 
house  at  an  unreasonable  time  of  night,  and  eight  per- 
sons for  their  uncivill  carriages  in  an  unseasonable  time 
of  night,  were  admonished  and  fined  costs." 

Robert  and  Samuel  Dunton  were  given  7  acres  and 
9  acres  of  the  Meadow  Grant.  They  came  to  Redding 
from  Lynn  in  1644.  Robert  was  a  selectman  in  1647 
and  '49.  He  shared  in  the  general  division  of  Town 
lands  in  1658,  but  after  that  his  name  is  not  found  in 
Redding  records.  The  eight  Lynn  men  who  had  planned 
and  commenced  the  settlement  of  Lynn  Village  had  the 
largest  grants  in  1647  ^^^  1^5^  with  the  exception  of 
Francis  Smith  and  the  minister.  They  prospered  and 
continued  for  many  years  to  be  leading  men  in  the 
community. 


[42] 


US  Tff  UT  i}r2ti~  Ttf  Its'  "xti  2tr  Tti  its'  its^  m~   Iff  m~   its  itr    iff  m"  iff  ur  iff  ttr  iff  ttr  m 

NEW  SETTLERS  WHO  SHARED  THE 
PLAYNE  GRANT  OF   1652 


OF  the  thirty-four  Redding  proprietors  who 
received  lots  in  1652,  only  eight  were  new 
settlers.  The  great  emigration,  following  the 
arrival  of  Gov.  Winthrop,  had  ceased.  Con- 
ditions in  England  grew  better  as  the  Parliamentary 
Party  under  Hampden  and  Cromwell  gained  control. 
New  England  inhabitants  during  the  next  two  hundred 
years  were  descendants  of  the  first  proprietors.  This 
accounts  for  the  remarkable  uniformity  in  customs,  hab- 
its, and  manners  throughout  New  England  until  the 
second  great  Atlantic  emigration  that  began  a  century 
ago.  Redding's  early  settlers  had  been  yeomen  in  Old 
England,  owning  and  cultivating  small  farms.  Not  one 
bore  the  high  title  of  Mister y  except  the  Rev.  Mr.  Green 
and  Mr.  Haugh.  The  land  grants  to  John  Poole,  Nich- 
olas Browne  and  Robert  Burnap  indicate  that  they  had 
adventured  quite  large  sums  in  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
pany, and  some  of  their  wealthy  family  connections  may 
have  been  Esquires.  Lord  Robert  Brooks  was  killed  in 
battle  in  1 643,  and  never  saw  his  grant  of  800  acres  south 
of  the  Ipswich  River  in  Redding. 

In  1652,  the  Town  ordered  "That  the  lottes  that 
was  to  be  laid  out  on  the  Woburn  line,  is  to  be  laid  out 
on  the  Playne  and  are  to  begin  at  the  end  next  to  the 

[43] 


Burcham  Playne  and  if  the  Playne  will  not  be  enough 
for  all,  the  rest  to  be  laid  out  in  the  Pine  Playne  at  Dirty 
Breech  meadow  and  to  begin  at  the  hither  end  next  to 
the  Town."  These  lots  amounted  to  three-fourths  of  a 
square  mile.  The  land  records  of  Middlesex  County 
show  that  they  comprised  a  considerable  part  of  the 
land  near  West  Street  in  Reading  and  the  Pine  Plain 
which  was  west  of  the  old  saw-mill  at  "Slab  City."  In 
1664,  Henry  Merrow  built  the  earliest  Reading  house 
on  one  of  the  lots  near  the  Woburn  line.  In  1673,  Jonas 
Eaton  bequeathed  to  "John  of  the  Playne"  a  house, 
barn  and  orchard,  at  the  Pine  Playne.  This  was  on  the 
high  land  west  of  the  Old  Mill.  The  third  homestead 
in  Reading  appears  to  have  been  that  of  Capt.  Thomas 
Bancroft  and  Sarah  Poole  on  West  Street,  in  1675. 

WILLIAM  EATON 

William  Eaton  with  his  wife,  three  children  and 
brother  Jonas,  came  from  Staples,  England,  in  1635  and 
settled  in  Watertown  where  he  was  a  proprietor  in  1 642. 
He  moved  to  Redding  about  1652,  became  a  freeman 
and  joined  the  church  there.  In  1653  he  bought  lOO 
acres  south  of  the  Wigwam  meadow  of  Robert  Bur- 
nap  sr.  for  £30.  His  homestead  was  east  of  the  Great 
Pond.  His  descendants  became  influential  citizens  in 
each  of  the  Redding  parishes. 

JOHN  WILEY 

Sergt.  John  Wiley  was  an  early  settler  on  land  in 
the  Woodville  district  of  Wakefield.  The  men  of  this 

[44] 


family  took  a  deep  interest  in  military  aflFairs  and  were 
officers  in  all  of  the  early  companies.  His  descendants 
settled  in  Stoneham  and  Lynnfield,  also. 

JOHN  DAMON 

John  Damon  was  the  son  of  Widow  Damant,  wife  of 
John  Eaton  of  Watertown.  They  were  received  into 
the  church  at  Dedham  in  1642,  but  continued  to  live  in 
Watertown.  In  1658  John  Eaton  bequeathed  £5  "to 
John  Damant  of  Redding."  He  became  a  member  of 
the  Redding  church  before  1669,  a  selectman  in  1672- 
75-'8i-'86,  and  a  deacon  in  1690.  His  first  homestead 
was  on  the  west  slope  of  Cowdrey's  Hill  at  the  lower 
end  of  Bare  Hill  Brook  Road.  The  family  early  moved 
to  land  on  John  Street,  near  the  center  of  the  present 
Town  of  Reading.  Numerous  descendants  have  served 
as  deacons,  selectmen,  and  members  of  school  commit- 
tees. "In  168 1,  John  Damon  jr.  made  application  to 
have  liberty  to  come  and  dwell  in  Dedham  to  practise 
his  trade  as  a  tanner  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
inquire  concerning  the  young  man."  (Dedham  Record.) 
Another  son,  Sergt.  Samuel,  was  one  of  Redding's  ten 
men  in  Capt.  Davenport's  company  that  led  the  charge 
on  King  Philip's  stronghold  in  the  terrible  Swamp  Fight 
in  Dec.  1675.  The  Town  gave  six  acres  of  land  to  each 
of  these  men  and  they  received  a  share  of  the  land 
granted  to  soldiers  of  this  war  by  the  General  Court  in 
Westminster,  Templeton  and  Amherst,  N.  H.  Four 
men  from  the  Damon  families  were  in  early  colonial 
wars. 

[45] 


THOMAS  TAYLOR 

Thomas  Taylor  was  a  proprietor  in  Watertown  in 
1642.  He  sold  a  house  and  six  acres  of  land  in  1649, 
moved  to  Lynn  and  then  to  Redding.  His  homestead 
was  on  Prospect  Street,  Wakefield,  not  far  from  Bare 
Hill  Brook  Road.  His  son,  Seabred  Taylor,  volunteered 
in  Philip's  war  and  was  rewarded  with  land  by  the  Town 
and  Colony. 

ROBERT  BURNAP 

Robert  Burnap  was  born  in  England  about  1595, 
came  to  New  England  in  1638  and  was  a  proprietor  in 
Roxbury  in  1640.  He  moved  to  Redding  about  the 
year  1650,  and  his  homestead  was  in  the  east  part  of  the 
Town.  He  was  a  surveyor,  and  after  1654  was  a  select- 
man for  fourteen  years. 

According  to  Waters'  "Gleanings  in  England,"  John 
Burnap  of  Ashton,  England,  father  of  Robert  and 
Thomas  of  Redding,  in  New  England,  bequeathed 
£250  to  them.  Shortly  afterward,  Robert  bought  lOO 
acres  of  meadow  in  the  Wigwams,  and  in  1654  he 
bought  the  Lord  Brooks  grant  of  800  acres  south  of  the 
Ipswich  River  and  east  of  Haverhill  Street,  given  to 
His  Lordship  by  the  Town  of  Lynn  in  1638/9.  Robert 
Burnap  sold  this  in  1662  to  Capt.  Curwin  of  Salem.  In 
1667,  his  son  Isaac  died,  and  left  one-half  of  a  farm  in 
Salem  to  his  Redding  relatives.  Robert  sr.  died  in  1689, 
left  his  homestead  of  80  acres  to  his  son  Thomas.  To 
Robert  jr.  he  bequeathed  the  land  and  meadow  "in  the 
town  that  his  house  is  now  in,  and  a  10  acre  lot  near 

[46] 


Ensign  Nathaniel  Parker's."  Robert  jr.  was  a  surveyor 
and  a  selectman  for  nineteen  years.  He  and  his  son 
Joseph  lived  on  the  Ash  Street  farm,  where  the  Reading 
Municipal  Light  Plant  is  now  located.  His  son,  John, 
was  one  of  the  men  in  Capt.  Jonathan  Poole's  company 
in  the  Great  Swamp  Fight.  Capt.  Joseph  Burnap,  son  of 
Robert  jr.,  born  1663,  succeeded  to  the  homestead  and 
married  Tabitha  Eaton.  He  was  a  cooper  and  the  town 
surveyor.  He  died  in  1744  and  bequeathed  £20  to  be 
expended  for  a  communion  service.  A  part  of  this  gift  is 
the  beautiful  silver  cup,  now  in  the  collection  of  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  A  grandson,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Jacob  Burnap,  born  1748,  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
University,  and  for  fifty  years  the  minister  of  the  old 
church  that  long  stood  near  the  banks  of  the  Souhegan 
River  in  Merrimack,  N.  H.  He  died  in  1821  aet.  73. 
His  first  wife  was  Ruth  Hopkins,  and  his  second  was 
Elizabeth  Brooks,  by  whom  he  had  1 3  children.  She  was 
a  sister  of  Dr.  Brooks  who  led  the  Reading  minute  men 
in  Concord,  on  April  19,  1775,  who  later  became  a  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts.  Joseph  Burnet  (Burnap),  the 
founder  of  St.  Mark's  School  in  Southboro,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Robert  of  Redding. 

REV.  SAMUEL  HAUGH 

Rev.  Samuel  Haugh,  the  second  minister  of  the  Red- 
ding Church,  was  ordained  in  March,  1650.  He  came 
to  Boston  in  1633,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  with  his 
father,  Atherton  Haugh,  and  the  Rev.  John  Cotton. 
The  father  had  been  a  mayor  of  Boston,  England,  and 

[  47  ] 


a  parishioner  of  Mr.  Cotton  who  became  the  minister 
of  the  church  in  Boston,  Mass.  Both  men  had  been  per- 
secuted by  Archbishop  Laud.  Atherton  Haugh  was 
highly  respected  and  was  one  of  the  Governor's  Assist- 
ants. His  Boston  house  was  on  the  southerly  corner  of 
School  and  Washington  Streets.  Samuel,  an  only  son, 
attended  Harvard  College,  but  did  not  graduate.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr.  Symmes  of 
Charlestown.  He  died  in  1662  at  the  house  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Hezekiah  Usher,  on  State  Street,  op- 
posite the  Old  State  House.  Mr.  Usher  was  a  wealthy 
publisher  who  assisted  Rev.  John  Eliot  in  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Indian  Bible. 

The  estate  of  Rev.  Samuel  Haugh  was  valued  at 
about  £2,000.  In  Redding,  he  owned  his  residence  with 
considerable  land  that  included  the  site  of  the  present 
Wakefield  Town  Hallj  30  acres  in  Berchen  Plain  j  399 
acres  north  of  the  Ipswich  River  5  and  a  farm  with  water 
rights  at  Lobs  Pound  in  North  Reading.  In  Cambridge, 
he  owned  a  farm  with  many  cattle.  In  Concord,  the 
Court  gave  him,  in  1650,  400  acres  that  had  been 
granted  to  his  father.  In  Boston,  he  owned  the  family 
homestead  on  the  south  corner  of  School  and  Washing- 
ton Streets.  In  Braintree,  "Hough's  Neck,"  opposite 
the  present  Fore  River  Ship-Yards,  was  a  portion  of  his 
real  estate. 

JOHN  WESTON 

"About  the  year  1644,  being  thirteen  years  of  age, 
John  Weston  came  from  Buckinhamshire  in  the  west 

[48] 


of  England,  to  Salem.  His  mother  was  then  a  widow. 
His  desire  to  come  over  was  such  that  he  conceiled  him- 
self in  a  ship  bound  for  America  until  she  sailed.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  church  in  Salem  in  1648.  He 
removed  to  that  part  of  Reading,  now  Wakefield,  about 
the  year  1652.  His  land  adjoined  Meeting-House 
Square  and  extended  southerly  from  the  south-east  part 
of  the  Pond."  (Manuscript  of  John  Weston  jr.)  South 
of  it  was  the  homestead  of  Dea.  Thomas  Parker. 

In  1653,  h^  married  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Dea.  Fitch. 
They  had  eight  children,  and  their  descendants  have 
been  very  numerous  in  the  "Hill-End"  and  "West 
Side  "  of  Reading.  He  died  in  1723,  aged  over  90  years. 
In  a  Troop  of  Horse  from  Reading  in  the  expedition 
against  the  French  and  Indians,  in  1757,  there  were 
three  members  of  this  Weston  family  3  five  served  the 
Town  efficiently  as  selectmen  5  and  one  was  its  postmas- 
ter for  thirty-five  years. 

JOHN  BATCHELDER 

Sergt.  John  Batchelder,  the  emigrant,  was  a  propri- 
etor and  a  selectman  of  Watertown  in  1635,  a  freeman 
in  1640,  and  sold  36  acres  there  in  1642.  He  joined  the 
Dedham  church  with  John  Eaton  and  his  wife,  Abigail 
Damant.  His  sons,  John  and  David,  were  baptized  in 
Dedham  in  1643.  The  family  came  to  Redding  about 
1648.  The  Batchelder  homestead  was  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Pond,  near  the  present  Cordis  Street.  In  1654, 
he  bought  40  acres  of  upland  south  of  John  Poole's  farm 
of  Lieut.  Thomas  Marshall  for  £30.   In  1661  he  and 

[49] 


his  son  David  leased  200  acres  of  Isaac  Hart,  which 
had  been  granted  to  Mr.  Edward  Tomlins  of  Lynn  in 
1638/9.  It  was  south  of  the  present  Sagamore  Golf 
Course  in  Lynnfield.  Sergt.  John  Batchelder  also 
bought  of  Lieut.  Marshall  one-half  of  the  Collins 
Meadow  of  80  acres  in  Lynnfield.  Both  of  his  sons 
served  in  King  Philip's  War  of  1675, —  John  in  Capt. 
Davenport's  company  that  led  the  charge  into  the  strong- 
hold of  the  Chief,  and  David  in  the  company  of  Lieut. 
Hasey  of  Redding. 

John  Batchelder  was  a  selectman  j  Nathaniel,  a 
grandson,  born  1674,  married  Hannah  Ellsley,  moved 
to  the  West  Parish,  and  built  the  earliest  Batchelder 
homestead  on  Pearl  Street  and  south  side  of  Franklin 
Street.  It  is  said  that  much  of  the  land  belonging  to  this 
farm  was  purchased  of  the  Indians. 

The  Batchelders  have  been  an  influential  family  in 
the  present  Town  of  Reading  j  nine  served  the  Town  as 
selectmen  for  forty- four  years  j  four  were  representa- 
tives j  Esq.  John,  born  1791,  a  Harvard  graduate,  was 
a  member  of  the  school  committee  for  thirty  years  j  his 
brother,  George,  was  a  captain  of  the  military  company. 


[50] 


THE  ANCIENT  RECORDS 
OF  LYNN  AND  REDDING 


DURING  the  past  three  centuries,  many  things 
have  happened  to  the  old  records  of  Lynn 
and  Redding.  At  the  outset,  when  there  were 
very  few  proprietors,  town  meetings  were 
very  informal  and  records  of  proceedings  were  probably 
kept  on  loose  leaves  of  paper,  that  were  soon  misplaced 
and  torn.  In  171 5,  the  inhabitants  of  Lynn  voted  "that 
the  records  were  much  shattered  and  that  the  oldest 
book  may  be  kept  fare  to  reed  severell  years  and  the 
second  book  transcribed."  A  few  pages  were  thus  copied 
and  the  books  afterward  lost  or  destroyed.  The  early 
records  of  Redding  also  became  "shattered,"  and  at  a 
town  meeting  in  168 1  it  was  voted,  "  that  the  Old  Town 
Book  be  transcribed  that  is  in  all  material  things."  It 
is  in  two  parts,  one  containing  records  of  town  meetings 
from  1 644,  and  the  other  the  Book  of  Lands  and  Ways, 
beginning  in  1638/9.  There  are  also  a  few  mutilated 
pieces  of  the  original  records.  Many  grants  mentioned 
in  the  old  Lynn  records  in  the  distribution  of  the  Six 
Mile  Grant  in  1638  were  in  the  township  of  Redding, 
and  are  fully  described  in  its  Book  of  Lands  and  Ways. 
It  has  the  following  title :  "  A  Trew  Record  of  the  lands 
and  medows  within  the  Bounds  of  the  towne  of  Redding 
as  they  were  given  by  the  Towne  of  Linn  or  as  they  were 

[51] 


given  by  the  Towne  of  Redding  or  as  they  have  been 
purchased  of  others.  The  i8^^'  of  the  12  mo.  1638." 

The  copy  of  168 1  was  again  transcribed  by  William 
Wightman,  the  Town  Clerk  of  Reading,  from  1862  to 
1874.  The  ancient  letter  forms  were  difficult  to  deci- 
pher, making  his  task  long  and  perplexing,  but  his  copy 
was  beautifully  done  and  is  remarkably  accurate.  Be- 
fore 1 700,  the  title  of  "  Mister  "  was  reserved  for  min- 
isters, magistrates  and  other  learned  men.  The  old 
abbreviation  for  "  Mister  "  so  closely  resembled  that  of 
"Major,"  that  it  is  not  strange  that  Mr.  Wightman 
sometimes  gave  to  ministers  the  rank  of  major! 

Although  the  old  Town  Book  of  Lynn  was  lost  or 
destroyed  two  centuries  ago,  a  copy  of  three  pages,  giv- 
ing the  distribution  of  the  Six  Mile  Grant  of  1638  to  its 
one  hundred  inhabitants,  is  carefully  preserved  in  the 
records  of  the  Essex  Quarterly  Court.  The  occasion  that 
led  to  the  making  of  this  copy  was  a  suit  brought  against 
the  Town  of  Lynn  by  William  Longley,  "  for  withold- 
ing  and  not  laying  out  forty  acres  of  land  which  were 
his  due  and  equal  proportion  as  an  inhabitant  according 
to  a  distribution  made  in  1638."  He  won  the  suit  and 
forty  acres  were  laid  out  to  him  west  of  the  Humfrey 
farm  in  Lynnfield.  In  1678  this  lot  was  sold  to  Ens. 
Thomas  Bancroft  of  Lynnfield.  The  following  items 
are  copied  from  this  Court  record: 


[52] 


These  lands  following  were  g 
tants  of  the  Town  of  Lynn 
To  ye  Right  Hon.  ye  Lord      L 
Brook   800  acres  as  it  is 
estimated 
To  Mr.  Tho  Willis  upland 
and  medow  500  acres  as 
it  is  estimated 
Tho  Talmage   200  acres  & 

tenn 
Nicholas  Browne  200  acres 

&  tenn 
William  Cowdrye  60  acres 
&  tenn 
RP    John  Poole  200  acres 
L      Edward  Tomlins  200  acres 

&  twenty 
R      Boniface  Burton  60  acres 
R      Mr.    Edward    Howell    500 

acres 
RP    John  Smith  60  acres 
R      Mr.  Sadler  200  acres  &  the 

rock  by  his  house 
R      Joseph  Armitage  60  acres 
R      Godfrey  Armitage  60  acres 
S       Thomas  Dexter  350  acres 
SRP  Richard   Walker   upland   & 
medow  200  acres 


RP 


RP 


RP 

R 

RP 
R 

R 

RP 


iven  to  the  inhabi- 
Ano  Domni  1638 
To    Mr.    Edwad    Hollioke 

500      acres      upland      & 

medow 
Widdow  Bancroft  100  acres 
Zachary   Fitch    30   acres   & 

tenn 
George  Taylor   30  acres  & 

tenn 
Tho  Parker  30  acres  &  tenn 
Robert   Parson    30   acres   & 

tenn 
Edward   Burcham   30  acres 

&  tenn 
Tho.   Marshall   30   acres  & 

tenn 
Anthony  &  Tho  Newill  30 

acres  each 
Abraham  Belknap  40  acres 
Hugh  Burt  60  acres 
Richard  Langlye  40  acres 
Adam    Hawks    upland    lOO 

acres 
Mr.    Samuel    Whiting    the 

Pastor  200  acres 
Mr.     Thomas     Cobit     the 

Teacher  200  acres 


These  three  pages  were  taken  out  of  the  Towne  Book  of  the 
Records  of  Lynn  the   10*^   ^  Ano  Domni  |5  By  me 

Andrew  Mansfield 

Town  Recorder 

Note:  The  letters  R  P  L  and  S,  inserted  by  the  author,  indicate  the 
following:  RP,  Land  in  Redding  given  to  those  who  became  its  planters. 
R,  Land  in  Redding  given  to  those  who  did  not  settle  there.  L,  Land  in 
Lynnfield.   S,  Land  in  Saugus. 

[53] 


GOD  SIFTED  A  WHOLE  NATION 

THAT  HE  MIGHT  SEND  CHOICE  GRAIN 

OVER  INTO  THIS  WILDERNESS 

GOVERNOR    STOUGHTON,     1 669 


This  beautiful  tribute  to  the  founders  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay  Colony  is  equally  true  of  the  planters  and  early 
settlers  of  Redding  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages. 
They  fled  from  England  during  the  years  of  which 
Charles  Dickens  said,  "That  terrible  as  were  the  hor- 
rors of  the  French  Revolution,  there  was  nothing  worse 
done  by  the  maddened  people  of  France  in  that  awful 
time  than  was  done  a  century  earlier  in  England  with 
the  express  approval  of  the  King." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Bay  Colony  escaped  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  King  and  his  Archbishop,  but  for  many 
years  the  authorities  in  Massachusetts  persecuted  be- 
lievers of  other  faiths.  The  Colony  was  in  danger  of 
becoming  a  theocracy,  dominated  by  the  ministers  of 
Boston  and  Salem.  But  ancient  records  show  that  Red- 
ding settlers  and  their  ministers,  in  common  with  those 
of  other  country  towns,  supported  the  tolerant  and 
democratic  spirit  of  the  Ipswich  and  Lynn  Plantations. 
[J4] 


Captain  Richard  Walker  stood  almost  alone  in  the 
Court,  to  protest  against  the  execution  of  Mary  Dyer, 
and  against  the  burning  of  Gov.  Pynchon's  books.  The 
Dyer  family  owned  land  in  Redding  j  members  of  a 
family  of  Quakers  banished  from  Salem  and  two  grand- 
sons of  Rebecca  Towne,  executed  during  the  witchcraft 
delusion,  married  in  Redding  and  bought  homesteads 
there. 

Early  Redding  settlers  showed  their  interest  in  edu- 
cation when  twenty  years  after  the  incorporation  of  the 
Town,  thirty-nine  proprietors  paid  a  tax  equal  to  360 
days'  wages  toward  rebuilding  the  College  in  Cambridge. 

When  King  Philip's  War  threatened  the  destruction 
of  the  Colony,  the  sons  of  early  Redding  settlers  filled 
its  quota  and  were  in  the  company  that  led  the  attack  in 
the  terrible  Swamp  Fight.  To  raise  money  for  men  and 
materials,  their  fathers  levied  five  single  rates  in  1675 
and  six  in  1677.  These  taxes  in  some  cases  amounted  to 
more  than  the  valuation  of  the  property. 

In  each  of  the  three  centuries  of  its  history.  Redding, 
in  common  with  the  other  towns  of  the  Commonwealth, 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  fierce  struggles  that  have  en- 
dangered the  liberty  of  free  men.  In  this  Tercentenary 
Year  of  Ancient  Redding,  amid  the  terrible  sacrifices  of 
a  World  War,  we  can  utter  no  better  prayer  than  that 
borne  on  the  seal  of  the  City  of  Boston: 

"  As  with  the  fathers,  so  may  God  be  with  us." 


[55] 


INDEX  OF  EARLY  SETTLERS 


Nicholas  Browne 

12 

Thomas  Kendall 

32 

John  Batchelder 

49 

Thomas  Marshall 

18 

Robert  Burnap 

46 

Thomas  Marshall, 

William  Cowdrey 

8 

the  Carpenter 

40 

Thomas  Clark 

41 

William  Martin 

40 

John  Damon 

45 

John  Poole 

II 

George  Davis 

41 

Thomas  Parker 

15 

Robert  Dunton 

42 

Peter  Palfrey 

30 

Samuel  Dunton 

42 

John  Person 

37 

Josiah  Dustin 

41 

John  Smith 

17 

Jonas  Eaton 

34 

Francis  Smith 

28 

William  Eaton 

44 

Lieut.  John  Smith 

29 

Zachary  Fitch 

17 

Jeremiah  Swayne 

37 

Henry  Felch 

39 

Edward  Taylor 

41 

Rev.  Henry  Green 

27 

Thomas  Taylor 

46 

Rev.  Samuel  Haugh 

47 

Richard  Walker 

19 

Thomas  Hartshorn 

35 

Samuel  Walker 

40 

Isaac  Hart 

36 

John  Weston 

48 

William  Hooper 

36 

John  Wiley 

44 

[56] 


■I 


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